With the U.S. midterm elections less than a month away, Iran has sharply escalated its attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, significantly curtailing the volume of oil transiting the critical waterway.
The surge in aggression comes after the Trump administration celebrated the success of U.S. naval escorts in restoring oil flows to near pre-conflict levels. Last week alone, Iranian forces targeted at least nine vessels in the strait, marking the most intense period of shipping attacks since July. That earlier spike coincided with the U.S. push for vessels to transit without Iranian permission, according to data from the United Nations and maritime analytics firm Kpler.
