The US is reviving a Civil War-era court to legally take Iranian oil cargo as a war prize, a sign the Iran conflict is settling into a long economic squeeze rather than more bombing.

• The Justice Department wants to use dormant prize courts to speed up seizing oil from ships, with the proceeds going to the US Treasury.
• The goal is to tighten the blockade on Iran and show the public that the war is paying for itself, though lawyers expect heavy court challenges.
• The Venezuela experience suggests the money won't be there — a seized tanker needed tens of millions in repairs before it could earn anything.
• Iran is hitting back at sea, striking a Kuwaiti-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and sending cheap drones at a Saudi tanker that Western forces shot down with multi-million-dollar missiles.
• Shortages of food and fuel are biting inside Iran, and small protests are appearing for the first time since the fighting started.

Outlook: Washington looks set to stall the conflict past the midterms while squeezing Iran economically, but Tehran holds the cheaper hand at sea and may escalate before then.