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U.S. Warns Top Iranian Leader Not to Shut Strait of Hormuz

(New York Times) Elisabeth Bumiller, Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker - The Obama administration is relying on a secret channel of communication to warn Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a "red line" that would provoke an American response, according to U.S. government officials. The secret communications channel was chosen to underscore privately to Iran the depth of American concern. American naval officials fear that an overzealous Revolutionary Guards naval captain could do something provocative on his own, setting off a larger crisis. Administration officials and Iran analysts said they continued to believe that Iran's threats to close the strait were bluster and an attempt to drive up the price of oil. Blocking the route for the vast majority of Iran's petroleum exports - and for its food and consumer imports - would amount to economic suicide.
2012-01-13 00:00:00
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