December 28, 2011
Recent threats by Iranian officials that they could use military force to close the Persian Gulf by blocking the Strait of Hormuz is a dangerous development. The closing of the Strait would wreak economic havoc across the globe, and continue to destabilize the Gulf region. More than 40 percent of all traded oil moves through the narrow Strait of Hormuz. The United States is taking this threat seriously and a US Fifth Fleet Spokeswoman said such action by Iran will not be tolerated. In this analysis, LIGNET assesses the prospects and costs of an Iranian action.
Iran's Threats on Strait Linked to Nuclear Strategy
Iran's Navy Commander Admiral Habibollah Sayari points at a map during a press conference in Tehran on December 22. Sayari spoke today about how easy it would be for Iran to cut off Persian Gulf oil shipping by closing the Strait of Hormuz. (Hamed Jafarnejad/AFP/Getty Images)

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