WarSclerotic

 (a) To show the US and Gulf oil nations that Tehran doesn’t need to block the Strait of Hormuz in order to disrupt the Gulf’s oil exports to international markets.

(b) The UAE has built the new Habshan-Fujairah oil pipeline there for the purpose of circumventing the Strait of Hormuz. By striking Fujairah, the Iranians demonstrated that alternative shipping routes are just as vulnerable to Iranian attack as the Gulf of Hormuz.

The above picture shows a direct hit to the Norwegian-flagged Andre Victoriaoil tanker which was almost scuttled.

Our sources note that although war tensions between US and Iran were mounting sharply, Western intelligence and the Gulf emirates were caught off-guard by the location of the Iranian attack and its precise targeting. It is now estimated that Tehran carefully calibrated the blasts to cause damage while falling short of sinking the vessels or inflicting casualties.