BEIRUT ¨C Iran is betting it can outlast Washington by turning the Middle East¡¯s trade routes, shipping lanes and energy infrastructure into pressure points that steadily raise the cost of confrontation, according to Persian Gulf officials and analysts.
Rather than seeking a decisive military victory, Tehran is pursuing a strategy of calibrated escalation aimed at widening the conflict without triggering full-scale war.
The goal, they say, is to convince the United States and its allies that containing the crisis is more costly than accommodating Iran¡¯s demands over the Strait of Hormuz.
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