Tehran is adopting an offensive, asymmetric strategy to raise the cost to
Washington of sustained sanctions and a maritime blockade, a researcher at the
Tehran Strategic Studies Center said. Economic pressure — rising food prices and
tighter access to foreign currency — is increasing public strain but, the
researcher said, is unlikely to force Tehran to capitulate given decades of
coping mechanisms. Iran is responding with combined military and non-military
measures, pressuring the Strait of Hormuz, drawing on regional allies and
expanding operations into the Levant and Red Sea, and is planning steps intended
to raise US costs and frustrate a US blockade.
