Iran has asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz, with the United States mulling new options to escalate against the Islamic Republic.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a checkpoint for around 20 percent of global oil and gas shipments, remains near multi-month lows. Iran continues to target commercial vessels violating its blockade of the waterway, and while the U.S. is keeping its blockade on Iranian ports, it appears to have abandoned the policy of responding to maritime attacks.
On August 13, the United Arab Emirates announced that two tankers from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) were targeted while they were transiting the Strait of Hormuz, holding Iran responsible.
The very next day, a third ADNOC tanker was targeted in a similar fashion, with the UAE again holding the Islamic Republic responsible for the attack. Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a verified report of an attack on a bulk carrier in the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. didn’t respond to any of these attacks, but President Donald Trump announced later in the day plans to declare the Strait of Hormuz a “territory” of the U.S. after “defeating” the Islamic Republic.
These threats were apparently taken seriously by Iran, with reports from August 17 revealing that the Islamic Republic has been preparing to escalate against the U.S. and its allies with options including attacks on undersea internet cables, attempts to incite unrest and potentially ground operations against Kuwait.
On the same day, former U.S. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene revealed that high-level strategy meetings are underway to discuss the potential use of nuclear weapons against Iran.
Iran was unfazed, however. Later on the same day, it was reported that the Islamic Republic seized a tanker while it was crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
On August 18, yet another attack was reported by UKMTO, which said that a bulk carrier was hit in the waterway. The UAE also reported a missile attack from Iran, which apparently targeted commercial vessels in its waters. There were no confirmed hits, however.
The very next day, Trump declared “ECONOMIC D-DAY” against Iran, warning that any country doing business with the Islamic Republic will face “TREMENDOUS economic consequences.”
The announcement came in line with earlier reports that said the U.S. is planning to prioritize economic pressure over military action. Still, it is highly unlikely that the Trump administration will manage to achieve what it failed to do with military means, through sanctions and blockade. In addition, it is unlikely that Iran will sit and tolerate such pressure, as it has the ability to drag the U.S. into another costly round of fighting.
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