Iran Changes Tactics in Targeting Ships Ahead of US Elections

Two senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Iran is employing new tactics to target ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, in an effort to keep oil prices high and influence the U.S. midterm elections. Iran has sought to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel launched attacks on it on February 28. Tehran has restricted passage through the waterway, which previously carried about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies before the war, in an attempt to gain leverage over Washington. Iranian threats and attacks have severely reduced navigation through the strait, pushing oil prices higher, despite the continued passage of some oil shipments. The officials declined to provide details about the new strategy, but one said that Iran began using different offensive tactics against ships it considers to be violating its restrictions about ten days ago, adding that this had led to an increase in attacks on those vessels. They said the strategy involved changes in the type and frequency of attacks, and that one of its objectives was to influence the outcome of the U.S. elections. One official stated, “The goal is to thwart U.S. and allied efforts to lower global oil prices.” The two officials said the decision to adopt the new strategy was made at the highest levels of Iran’s leadership and was fully coordinated across various pillars of the country’s ruling system. A U.S. military official, who requested anonymity, confirmed that Iran had fundamentally changed its tactics, with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard beginning to employ unarmed observers aboard small boats to monitor potential targets, including U.S. Navy ships, after the United States destroyed most of Iran’s radar capabilities. The official said the U.S. military observed, in an incident not previously disclosed that occurred last week, Iranian observers operating from a sailboat and reporting targets to the Revolutionary Guard. He added that U.S. forces confronted the vessel, ordered those on board to leave, and then destroyed it, with no casualties. The official confirmed that Iran, unwilling to risk the remainder of its fast boats, has been unable to prevent an increase in oil exports through the strait, especially after U.S. strikes decimated its naval forces. The war, with its monthly cost of $3 billion, has become a central issue in U.S. campaigns for the midterm elections scheduled for November, which will determine which party controls Congress. U.S. President Donald Trump is considering next steps against Iran, but he said he would not launch another attack before the elections.