President Donald Trump has downplayed his war on Iran as \u201csmall potatoes,\u201d but those potatoes are getting bigger as both sides are escalating beyond their stalemate in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n
\n
For months, Iran\u2019s military has failed to completely close off the narrow waterway, as U.S. forces shepherd more oil tankers through, eroding Tehran\u2019s geopolitical leverage. <\/p>\n
Similarly, the U.S. military has failed to completely reopen the strait, as Iranian attacks on commercial vessels prevent a return to prewar traffic flows, keeping oil prices high. <\/p>\n
But with the U.S. naval blockade also strangling Iran\u2019s economy, Tehran was widely expected to try changing the equation with a fresh cycle of attacks\u2014and it did. <\/p>\n
Iran launched missiles at U.S. bases around the Persian Gulf earlier this week, then on Saturday it launched missiles at a Navy aircraft carrier and destroyer. <\/p>\n
That prompted the U.S. military to strike three Iranian oil tankers that were deemed to be operating in the \u201cshadow network\u201d that funnels money to the regime\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost \u2014 taking out three of yours,\u201d U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said in a statement. \u201cWe will not hesitate to defend American forces, and if necessary, destroy Iran\u2019s limited and exposed oil fleet.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Hamidreza Azizi, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group, the fighting appears to represent a new phase of escalation.<\/p>\n
Until now, Iran\u2019s military had focused on tankers and commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz, he pointed out in a post on X. Meanwhile, its direct attacks on U.S. forces had been limited to bases around the Gulf. <\/p>\n
\u201cAttempting to strike U.S. warships enforcing the blockade therefore crosses a different threshold,\u201d Azizi added. \u201cThe attempt failed, but there is no reason to assume the next one will. A successful strike \u2014 especially one causing significant U.S. casualties \u2014 could rapidly transform the conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s attack on U.S. warships also follows a report in the Financial Times<\/em> this week that said Russia is secretly helping Iran develop supersonic cruise missiles. <\/p>\nA ramjet propulsion system, which would enable a missile to travel at several times the speed of sound, would likely power anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles.<\/p>\n
Such a weapon would force U.S. Navy ships and aircraft to move much farther away from Iran, breaking the chokehold on its economy.<\/p>\n
For now, the naval blockade has proved to be a potent economic weapon, and Iranian officials have admitted that conditions are dire and suggested time is running out.<\/p>\n
The Treasury Department has also vowed to inflict an \u201ceconomic D-Day\u201d on Iran with wider sanctions aimed at countries that facilitate its illicit oil trade and other financial transactions.<\/p>\n
But Azizi warned that adding economic pressure will not necessarily make Iran more cautious, especially if Tehran sees it as unsustainable. That means the U.S. attacks on Iranian oil tankers will likely spark even more escalation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe greater the squeeze on Iran, the greater the incentive to act,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAnd the more Tehran comes to see that pressure as existential, the more likely it is to conclude that it has less to lose \u2014 and that increasingly risky actions are worth attempting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Iran #targets #Navy #warships #retaliates #higher #economic #cost #escalation #phase<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Donald Trump has dow… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3927,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[225,2646,6325,599,456,452,6802,717,4983,6804,1091,6803],"class_list":["post-3926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance-news","tag-cost","tag-economic","tag-escalation","tag-higher","tag-iran","tag-military","tag-navy","tag-oil","tag-phase","tag-retaliates","tag-targets","tag-warships"],"yoast_head":"\n
Iran targets Navy warships and US retaliates with 'higher economic cost' in new escalation phase - Finance News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"zh_CN\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iran targets Navy warships and US retaliates with 'higher economic cost' in new escalation phase - Finance News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President Donald Trump has dow…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Finance News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-05T19:03:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9914747-e1788624395381.jpg?w=2048\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u4f5c\u8005\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 \u5206\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\"},\"headline\":\"Iran targets Navy warships and US retaliates with ‘higher economic cost’ in new escalation phase\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-05T19:03:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926\"},\"wordCount\":588,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/9914747-e1788624395381.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"cost\",\"economic\",\"escalation\",\"higher\",\"Iran\",\"Military\",\"Navy\",\"oil\",\"phase\",\"retaliates\",\"targets\",\"warships\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Finance News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926\",\"name\":\"Iran targets Navy warships and US retaliates with 'higher economic cost' in new escalation phase - Finance News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/9914747-e1788624395381.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-05T19:03:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/9914747-e1788624395381.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/9914747-e1788624395381.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?p=3926#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"\u9996\u9875\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Iran targets Navy warships and US retaliates with ‘higher economic cost’ in new escalation phase\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/\",\"name\":\"Finance News\",\"description\":\"Just another Finance News site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"zh-Hans\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.vaultinsider.top\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Iran targets Navy warships and US retaliates with 'higher economic cost' in new escalation phase - Finance News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926","og_locale":"zh_CN","og_type":"article","og_title":"Iran targets Navy warships and US retaliates with 'higher economic cost' in new escalation phase - Finance News","og_description":"President Donald Trump has dow…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926","og_site_name":"Finance News","article_published_time":"2026-09-05T19:03:04+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9914747-e1788624395381.jpg?w=2048","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"\u4f5c\u8005":"admin","\u9884\u8ba1\u9605\u8bfb\u65f6\u95f4":"3 \u5206"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e"},"headline":"Iran targets Navy warships and US retaliates with ‘higher economic cost’ in new escalation phase","datePublished":"2026-09-05T19:03:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926"},"wordCount":588,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9914747-e1788624395381.jpg","keywords":["cost","economic","escalation","higher","Iran","Military","Navy","oil","phase","retaliates","targets","warships"],"articleSection":["Finance News"],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926","name":"Iran targets Navy warships and US retaliates with 'higher economic cost' in new escalation phase - Finance News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9914747-e1788624395381.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-05T19:03:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"zh-Hans","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"zh-Hans","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9914747-e1788624395381.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9914747-e1788624395381.jpg","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?p=3926#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"\u9996\u9875","item":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Iran targets Navy warships and US retaliates with ‘higher economic cost’ in new escalation phase"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/","name":"Finance News","description":"Just another Finance News site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"zh-Hans"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/#\/schema\/person\/ed40724a3e5d482ce66781a042c3c31e","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vaultinsider.top\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/9914747-e1788624395381.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n