'Wall Street Journal': Iran's 'Guerrilla War' Weapon in the Strait of Hormuz
Wall Street Journal report reveals low-cost Iranian tactics to disrupt ships in the Strait of Hormuz following US strikes.
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
Washington, Tehran – Reuters, AFP – Iran is resorting to low-cost naval tactics to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S. strikes weakened its conventional military capabilities and Washington tightened its blockade on Iranian ports, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The report explained that Tehran is attempting to reassert its influence over the strategic waterway through a “guerrilla” naval campaign involving explosive-laden unmanned boats, hull-mines, missile fire, as well as small civilian boats and observers embedded among fishing traffic to gather intelligence on ships and identify potential targets.
According to regional officials, maritime security firms, and analysts who spoke to the newspaper, these methods reflect an Iranian effort to compensate for the decline in its ability to monitor and control the strait through conventional means, following attacks on coastal facilities and radar installations during the confrontation with the United States.
Incidents are no longer limited to oil tankers; they have extended to container ships, gas carriers, and bulk cargo vessels in scattered areas.
In Tehran, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned that the war in the Middle East would broaden in scope if it resumes, asserting that the election results do not signify a change in U.S. policy.
In a written statement, he said, “Those who still harbor the slightest hope that the behavior of the dominant regime will change through partisan or factional shifts, or who imagine that making concessions to the United States can deter it from its hostility toward the Iranian people, are gravely mistaken.”
