Close to Owning the Strikes: Tehran's Hormuz Messaging Hardens as Trump Raises the Price of a Deal
Iranian messaging on the Strait of Hormuz has moved from silence toward implied ownership of the latest tanker strikes, while President Trump has called Iran's Hormuz offer insufficient and left renewed bombing after the midterms on the table. Iran's online outlets, setting the agenda on a Friday without print papers, ridiculed Trump's suggestion of an Iranian hand in the flydubai incident. Washington widened sanctions to Iran's car and rail sectors, and the dollar opened near a record. We assess that the period of highest strike risk opens in early November.