Tehran’s New Weapon Is Not a Bomb. It Is an Invoice.

Iran is expanding the theater of war with an eye on the Strait of Hormuz. Last week, according to U.S. Central Command, more than 30 Iranian-directed drones attacked American forces and Saudi energy installations near Riyadh and the Eastern Province. On July 28, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spread the battle to Jordan, firing a fresh volley of ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in the country. American and Saudi aircraft answered in Iraq, striking targets across seven provinces, where the Popular Mobilization Forces—militias funded by, and loyal to Tehran—counted 20 dead. There were strikes on targets in Iran, too, and threats of more to come. President Donald Trump, who only four days earlier had called off a 13-day bombing campaign, promised that the Islamic Republic was “going to get a beating.” Oman’s most recent attempt to find an off-ramp that would satisfy all the belligerents collapsed. Muscat had reportedly handed Tehran a Gulf-backed plan for joint management of the Strait of Hormuz, under which Iran would not exercise sole control and any fees would be voluntary. Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, rejected it. The Islamic Republic, he count...