Iran has changed its tactics towards ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, while a Houthi missile attack on the Saudi capital Riyadh wounded four people. The development comes amid growing tensions over key sea and air routes in the region.
According to two senior Iranian officials quoted by “Reuters“, the new approach has been in place for about 10 days. It targets ships that Tehran considers to be violating its restrictions on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz area. The sources did not disclose the specific parameters of the change, but one of them said that it led to an increase in attacks on such vessels.
Iranian officials associate the strategy with two political and economic effects: keeping oil prices high and trying to influence the midterm elections in the United States. According to one of them, the goal is to thwart efforts by Washington and its allies to lower world oil prices.
Tehran sets conditions for Hormuz
The decision on the new approach was made at the highest level in Iran and was coordinated with the institutions of the ruling system, the sources told “Reuters“.
On October 11, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said that Iran would not open the Strait of Hormuz until the United States met seven conditions. He said Washington had responded to some of them, but the reaction to others was unclear.
“Iran will retain control of the Strait of Hormuz and will benefit economically from it“, Rezaei said.Four injured in missile attack on Riyadh
Two women, a child and a man were injured in Riyadh after debris from two intercepted and destroyed cruise missiles fell on the city. According to Saudi civil defense data cited by “Al Jazeera“, 15 residential buildings were damaged.
The Houthis launched the missiles amid ongoing clashes between the “Ansar Allah“ movement and Saudi-backed forces in Yemen. Previous attacks have hit the Riyadh International Airport area, with one reported to have killed 12 people and wounded 309.
In the past 24 hours, Saudi Arabia has carried out more than 100 airstrikes on Yemeni territory, Brigadier General Yahya Sariyah, a spokesman for the Houthi movement “Ansar Allah“, said on the social media platform X.
He said Saudi Air Force F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets carried out 104 airstrikes and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure in the Yemeni capital Sanaa and eight provinces. The attacks have resulted in civilian casualties.
According to a Houthi spokesman, the total number of Saudi airstrikes and missile strikes on Yemeni territory has reached 2,281.
The escalation in the region began in mid-July, when pro-government forces in Yemen attacked Sanaa airport as a plane from Iran carrying a Houthi delegation was landing. The Houthi delegation blamed Saudi Arabia for the incident and declared war on it. The two sides have regularly exchanged fire since then.