Iran changes tactics in attacks on Hormuz shipping

Iran has changed the type and pace of attacks against vessels it considers to have violated its restrictions on Strait of Hormuz shipping, according to two senior Iranian officials, as Tehran seeks to keep oil prices high and influence the November US midterm elections. The officials told Reuters that the shift began about 10 days before October 14 and was coordinated at the highest levels of Iran’s leadership. They provided no operational details. They said the strategy is intended to frustrate efforts by the United States and its allies to lower global oil prices, and that Iran plans to extend maritime operations beyond the strait to the Gulf of Oman and waters farther afield. A US military official said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has begun using unarmed spotters in small boats to identify potential targets, including US naval vessels. The official said US forces confronted a dhow last week after determining that people aboard were relaying target information to the IRGC. The occupants were told to abandon the vessel, which US forces then destroyed; there were no casualties, the official said.