Why Did the White House Pause Hormuz Strikes Before Midterms?
A senior US official says the White House paused strikes on Iranian missiles and drones in the Strait of Hormuz to avoid escalation before the US midterm elections.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The White House has suspended attacks on Iranian missiles and drones in the Strait of Hormuz to prevent military tensions from escalating before the US midterm elections on Nov. 3, a senior US official has revealed. The official’s account was reported by the US news website Axios.
According to Axios, US Central Command (CENTCOM) has in recent weeks almost completely stopped striking Iranian anti-ship missiles and attack drone launchers in the area of the strait. A US official said the White House ordered the pause to avoid escalating the war ahead of the midterms, and that it made Iran more confident about launching attacks.
CENTCOM now worries that a rise in attacks on ships will make shipping companies think twice about transiting the strait, the report said. That could mean less oil coming out and a spike in oil prices. US officials also say Iran is attacking more ships to try to raise oil prices and increase pressure on Trump ahead of the midterms.
Despite the attacks, CENTCOM has said the strait remains open, with 400 ships and 100 million barrels of oil moving through it over the last week.
Iranian media reported on Oct. 17 that an oil tanker struck a sea mine while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the vessel was carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil and had tried to pass illegally, along a route Iranian authorities had not permitted.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency, citing the IRGC, said the large tanker exploded after hitting the mine, setting off a major fire on board. The IRGC’s naval force issued a stern warning in its statement. “The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the fate of any ship that violates Iran’s laws is to burn,” it said.
The incident follows a report on the morning of Oct. 16 by Iran’s IRNA news agency, which said the IRGC had found a burning oil tanker during a patrol along one of the prohibited routes near the strait. The IRGC did not initially explain the cause of the fire or who owned the vessel, according to the report.
The IRGC also said the ship had switched off its maritime monitoring and tracking system in order to pass secretly, but did not escape. In that statement, Iran stressed that the Strait of Hormuz is under the full control of its naval forces, and that no commercial ship or foreign force can pass without permission from Tehran.
The White House and Qatari mediators are still waiting to hear back from Iran about a US counterproposal to end the war. “It’s still in internal deliberations in Tehran,” a US official said to Axios.
A regional source with direct knowledge also told Axios that regional mediators have in recent days told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that Iran should not wait until after the midterms to respond. The mediators also told Iran there is no guarantee that Trump will be more conciliatory after the elections and that, on the contrary, he might be more aggressive.