Morgoth and Doriath

[Rikae]

But surely, if Doriath was indeed his primary target, his intent wasn't merely to annoy or insult Thingol and Melian, who he "hated and feared". I would argue that his intent was to create an opportunity for the possible destruction of Doriath; he could at least foresee that it would be Hurin's destination, and probably intended that Hurin would in some way betray it or break down its defenses, albeit not in the exact way he did.

The sentence you quoted is general and, by itself, implies he had no specific goal, but the previous lines make it clear that he did, and the last line doesn't deny that.

[Raynor]

We are going in circles. I am not saying that Melkor did not want to destroy Doriath - he wanted to destroy everything (including his minions, according to Myths Transformed) - , but what were his tools in this particular case: a specific plan or planting seeds of evil which develop on their own.