Iran Weighs European Strikes as Strait Control Slips
Tehran examines hitting US assets in Bulgaria and Cyprus while tankers abandon its waters.
Iran Weighs European Strikes as Strait Control Slips — Homayoun Falakshahi of Kpler said Iran has at least partially lost control of the strait. More than 80% of vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz in the past two weeks chose the Omani route, according to the data. Oil traffic has dropped to about 15 million barrels per day, compared to about 20 million before the war. Tehran has examined options to strike US military assets in Europe, including in Bulgaria and Cyprus, as it considers how to raise the price Washington would pay if the conflict expands.[^1] Bulgaria recently allowed US refueling aircraft to operate from Bezmer Air Base.[^1] The Revolutionary Guard's calculus appears to weigh a loss of deterrence at sea against the risks of opening a European front. The gap between Iran's maritime weakness and its talk of retaliation frames a dilemma: it has at least partially lost control of the strait, but still wants to signal it can reach American forces far from the Gulf.[^1] Knesset defies High Court, opposition eyes defectors as elections loom — Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana boasted to Likud activists today that the Knesset had managed to "set a red line for the High Court" by refusing to hold new elections for the State Comptroller, contrary to a High Court ruling from about a month and a half ago. The vacuum was created following the resignation of the previous Comptroller, Matanyahu Englman, in early July. CPA Doron Ronen, president of the Internal Auditors' Association, issued an urgent call today to the heads of government authorities, warning that the stalemate abandons whistleblowers. [^1][^2] Meanwhile, the electoral field is fragmenting. Reserve Brigadier General Ofer Winter is preparing to announce the formation of a new political party, with purple posters hung across the country pointing to August 25 as the date. Likud fears Winter's party could attract right-wing votes but fail to cross the threshold, weakening the right-wing bloc. Naftali Bennett, whose Yashar party is running separately, presented his "security concept" today at a party conference, promising to enlist all 100,000 young Haredi men and warning: "The moment you start with ide