Tensions between the United States and Iran continue to rise, with U.S. President Donald S. Trump issuing a threatening tweet against Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani amidst preparations to re-impose sanctions on Iran’s economy following the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal. The increasingly tense situation has given rise to fears of violence, perhaps even open warfare in the Persian Gulf, where one-third of the world’s oil is produced. A key element of Iran’s strategy in such a conflict would be to close the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway through which most of the Gulf’s oil flows. Iranian officials have made several threats in this direction, in response to the escalating tensions with the U.S. Iranian leaders frequently threaten to close the Strait, and commentators have warned that such an action is a real possibility . Iran’s military and conservative leadership, the most hardline members of its government, have […]