Publication

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.