April 2012
Sabre-Rattling in the Persian Gulf
Legal and Military Aspects of the Ideological Confrontation between Iran and the United States
When Iranian generals threatened in January 2012 to avenge any attack on the Islamic Republic by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, Barack Obama responded promptly and robustly. In a message addressed personally to Iran's Supreme Leader, the US President cautioned that "closing the Strait of Hormuz is our red line". The Iranian reaction was reserved: they would study the message but generally speaking Obama had said nothing new about the American-Iranian relationship. With a lack of functioning communication channels between the two countries, the resulting acute tensions are bound to come to a head at regular intervals.
© 2012 Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP)
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Author:
Sascha Albrecht, Walter Posch
Series:
Volume:
2012
Issue:
14
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