The Iranian leadership is trying “to make it clear to everyone that they are serious that no one should pass … without arrangement with them”, Barakat told Al Jazeera.
“The Americans are trying to undermine it. The Americans are targeting their infrastructure, which controls the drones [and] threatens the ships. The Iranians have little options to retaliate except for the static American bases around the region.”
Barakat added that it is nevertheless interesting that Iran has targeted Kuwait and Bahrain in the last few weeks, which could suggest that Tehran views those Gulf countries as a “softer target” for its strikes.
“I think from an Iranian perspective, what they want to avoid at any price is to set this [US blockade of Iranian ports] as the new norm,” Barakat said. “This is why this retaliation, from their perspective, strategically is very important.”