A senior Iranian official said that Tehran is planning to launch an economic war, including attacking oil bypass export facilities in the Gulf region, with the aim of boosting US gasoline prices and cracking down on Trump's party's approval rating before the November midterm US elections. According to the official, the plan's goals will include two main alternative routes used by shippers to avoid the Strait of Hormuz: Saudi Arabia's Yanbu oil pipeline and the UAE's Fujairah oil terminal. Together, these two facilities process approximately 5.5 million barrels of oil per day. If Iran also cuts off the supply of about 5 million barrels/day of oil currently being transported through the Strait of Hormuz by the “shadow fleet” supported by the United States, then once the operation is successful, it will reduce quite a bit of alternative transportation capacity, and it is these channels that have maintained some of the Gulf's oil exports in the context of a broader blockade. Considering that under the current tense situation, the price of Brent crude oil is already close to 93 US dollars per barrel, any credible action against Yanbu or Fujairah may be viewed by traders as being far larger than the impact of previous supply disruptions.

A senior Iranian official said that Tehran is planning to launch an economic war, including attacking oil bypass export facilities in the Gulf region, with the aim of boosting US gasoline prices and cracking down on Trump's party's approval rating before the November midterm US elections. According to the official, the plan's goals will include two main alternative routes used by shippers to avoid the Strait of Hormuz: Saudi Arabia's Yanbu oil pipeline and the UAE's Fujairah oil terminal. Together, these two facilities process approximately 5.5 million barrels of oil per day. If Iran also cuts off the supply of about 5 million barrels/day of oil currently being transported through the Strait of Hormuz by the “shadow fleet” supported by the United States, then once the operation is successful, it will reduce quite a bit of alternative transportation capacity, and it is these channels that have maintained some of the Gulf's oil exports in the context of a broader blockade. Considering that under the current tense situation, the price of Brent crude oil is already close to 93 US dollars per barrel, any credible action against Yanbu or Fujairah may be viewed by traders as being far larger than the impact of previous supply disruptions.