Tehran has begun implementing a strategy that was reportedly devised by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shortly before his death, the Financial Times reports, citing a source within Iran’s leadership.

According to the newspaper, the plan aims to destabilize the Middle East, shake global energy markets and raise the stakes in the confrontation with the United States and Israel. The strategy focuses on strikes against energy facilities and critical infrastructure whose disruption could affect aviation and maritime traffic across the region.

The source cited by Financial Times indicated that Iran’s leadership believed escalation had become unavoidable after what it considered violations of its red lines. In that view, once those boundaries were crossed, Tehran could no longer adhere to previous rules of engagement and decided to intensify the conflict to demonstrate its resolve.

The report says Khamenei began developing the detailed plan after U.S. strikes carried out in June 2025. Despite the subsequent deaths of the Supreme Leader and several senior military officials, the strategy has now been put into motion.

As part of this approach, Tehran has stepped up attacks on energy infrastructure in the Persian Gulf. Iranian drones struck a major gas facility in Qatar and one of Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refineries. Following the attack, Qatar temporarily suspended shipments of liquefied natural gas.

Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz has also been severely disrupted. The waterway normally handles about 20 percent of the world’s energy supplies, and the near halt in traffic has pushed oil and gas prices sharply higher.

Iranian drones have also targeted hotels, airports and ports in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and Bahrain, while strikes have been carried out against U.S. bases across the Middle East.

According to the Iranian official cited by the newspaper, the escalation is expected to continue. The source suggested that targeting the leadership of the Islamic Republic would inevitably trigger a reaction, implying that further confrontation is likely.

The report notes that Tehran views these actions as part of a struggle for survival. During the conflict in the summer of 2025, Iran directed most of its strikes primarily at targets in Israel.