By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowallDUBAI, July 8 - Control over the Strait of Hormuz has become a "golden weapon" to Iran, for which it is willing to risk new escalations with the United States, and is a bigger priority than a nuclear programme for which it accepted decades of sanctions.So central is the issue to Iranian strategy that ships passing the Strait without Tehran's approval were fired upon this week, leading to an exchange of fire with the United States that threatens last month's interim peace deal.

By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowallDUBAI, July 8 - Control over the Strait of Hormuz has become a "golden weapon" to Iran, for which it is willing to risk new escalations with the…

Iran views control of the Strait of Hormuz as a vital strategic asset. This waterway is now a higher priority than its nuclear program. Recent actions have led to exchanges of…