Iran tries to maximize the pain in response to attacks by US, Israel

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Iran has lashed out against neighboring countries and effectively shut down a vital shipping line for oil as the regime tries to assert its control and maximize its leverage in the war against the U.S. and Israel.

Iranian leadership has vowed the war will continue until Tehran is satisfied. In his first statement since becoming supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of global supply passes through, closed and open new fronts in the war “where the enemy has little experience and would be highly vulnerable.”

Other top officials have echoed that message and said the war won’t end until Iran agrees to end it.

“Starting a war is easy, but ending it won’t happen with a few tweets,” Iran security chief Ali Larijani wrote Thursday in a post on X. “We will not let you off until you accept your mistake and pay the price for it.”

Iran does not have the military firepower to keep up with the U.S. and Israeli militaries and has instead relied on its massive stockpiles of missiles and drones to hit targets in at least nine countries. Thousands of cheaper, easily mass-produced drones have strained countries’ ability to defend their airspace.

A group of pro-Iran hackers on Wednesday also claimed a cyberattack on Stryker, a U.S.-based medical equipment manufacturer. The hack expands the conflict into the cyber world and spurred concerns about more coming.

Iran had vowed to spread the consequences of the conflict before the U.S. and Israel attacked, a strategy that has put Gulf nations directly in Tehran’s crosshairs.

“The current conflict has placed the Arab Gulf states on the front lines as they are unable or unwilling to defend U.S. bases. In addition, if they participate in the attacks on Iran, Tehran has already demonstrated that they will respond in kind and the Arab Gulf states are unable to secure their oil and gas installations and other vital infrastructure like water desalinization plants are highly vulnerable to missiles and drones,” said Osamah Khalil, a professor of history and chair of the International Relations Undergraduate Program at Syracuse University.

Tehran has utilized multiple avenues to inflict economic pain on the U.S. and lashed out against neighboring Gulf countries over claims they are helping America and Israel with their assault on Iran.

Since the U.S.-Israeli operation began on Feb. 28, Iran has launched thousands of drones and hundreds of missiles across the Gulf. The attacks have targeted U.S. bases in the region and Israel but have also been launched at oil production facilities, airports and water treatment plants in neighboring countries.

The pace of Tehran’s retaliatory strikes appears to have slowed in recent days in a move analysts say could be due to shrinking stockpiles or to conserve weapons if the war is prolonged. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday that Iran fired the fewest missiles in a 24-hour period since the war started thanks to U.S. efforts to reduce its missile and drone capabilities.

“Our strikes mean we’ve made significant progress in reducing the number of missile and drone attacks out of Iran,” he said.

Even as the pace of missile launches has slowed, Gulf countries are still being hit and Iran is launching drones at oil tankers around the Middle East. Two oil tankers in Iraqi waters were set ablaze Wednesday night in an attack claimed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has come to a standstill since the onset of the war in a disruption that will take months to stabilize even after the conflict eases.

Oil prices have spiked since the war started, rising to $100 a barrel as of Thursday amid fears of a prolonged closure of the strait. Oil shipments have slowed to a trickle as Iran steps up attacks on tankers and tries to lay mines in the waterway in what the International Energy Agency described as “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market.”

Thirty-two IEA member states, including the U.S., agreed to release a record 400 million barrels from their strategic reserves to limit price spikes. Several Gulf countries have also opted to curtail their oil production over safety concerns and export challenges.

The U.S.-Israel operation were launched as the Iranian regime was in its weakest position in years after widespread protests roiled the country in January. Its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial waves of attacks along with other figures.

“Having been attacked twice in less than a year by the United States and Israel, including the assassinations of a significant number of political, military and religious leaders, Iran is determined to reestablish deterrence,” Khalil said. “As the United States and Israel are also committed to regime change and have boasted about this goal, this has become an existential fight for the Iranian government.”