Iran shifting tactics to step up attacks on shipping

Iran is deploying new tactics to target ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz as it seeks to keep oil prices high and influence the US midterm elections, two senior Iranian officials told Reuters.



Tehran has tried to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28. It has restricted passage through the waterway, which carried about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade before the war, in an effort to gain leverage over Washington.



Its threats and attacks have severely curtailed traffic through the strait, driving up oil prices, though some oil has continued to transit.



The two officials declined to provide details of the new strategy, but one said that Iran had started using different offensive tactics against vessels it considered in violation of its restrictions about 10 days ago, adding that this had led to an increase in attacks on such ships.



The strategy included a change in the type as well as the pace of attacks, with one goal being to influence the outcome of the US vote, they said.



The decision to adopt the new strategy had been taken at the highest levels of Iran’s leadership and was fully coordinated across the country’s ruling system, the officials said.