Iranian leadership is reportedly planning to expand attacks on crude oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in a calculation aimed at making President Trump lose the upcoming U.S. midterm elections next month, according to media reports.

This stems from the assessment that President Trump, currently pressured by high oil prices ahead of the election, will not be as sensitive to oil prices after the midterms.

The Washington Post reported that two Iranian officials said their government views the period leading up to the midterm elections on November 3 as a critical window to exert pressure on President Trump.

An Arab diplomat and a Western diplomat stated that some Iranian officials intend to "punish" President Trump in the midterm elections.

The goal is to inflict a political blow similar to how the 1979 Iran hostage crisis negatively impacted then-President Jimmy Carter's 1980 reelection bid.

The Arab diplomat noted that the Iranian leadership is "obsessed" with the U.S. elections, adding, "They think they can undermine the president's political standing."

Iran expanded its attacks on vessels after the United States launched operations to increase the movement of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations stated that Iran has attacked more than 20 vessels this month, with one of them sinking.

The U.S. military has been deploying fighter jets, drones, and special operations forces to escort ships navigating the strait daily, and thanks to these operations, the volume of crude oil shipments coming out of the Gulf has increased significantly.

Iran has criticized these U.S. tanker escort operations as smuggling.

Mohsen Rezaee, secretary-general of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, appeared on state-run Press TV and claimed that Iran targets five to six ships every night.

Iranian state media daily highlights topics such as energy prices, President Trump's approval ratings, and the possibility of the Republican Party losing the midterms.

Iran anticipates that if the Republican Party loses the midterm elections, it could disrupt President Trump's prosecution of war, which would benefit Iran.

(Reported by Jung Da-eun | Video by Jang Yu-jin | Graphics by Lee Jeong-ju | Produced by SBS Digital News)