Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses
March 2, 2012 - RL32048
The Obama Administration identifies Iran as a major threat to U.S. national security interests. This perception is generated by suspicions of Iran's intentions for its nuclear program--heightened by a November 8, 2011, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report--as well as by Iran's support for militant groups in the Middle East and in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. officials also accuse Iran of helping Syria's leadership try to defeat a growing popular opposition movement and of taking advantage of Shiite majority unrest against the Sunni-led, pro-U.S. government of Bahrain. Tensions have been particularly elevated since Iran's late-December 2011 threat to try to choke off much of the world's oil supplies by attempting to close the Strait of Hormuz--a reaction to the imposition of significant sanctions against Iran's vital exports of oil. The sense of imminent crisis with Iran--much of which has been brought on by Israeli threats to buck U.S. advice by acting militarily against Iran's nuclear program--follows three years in which the Obama Administration has assembled a broad international coalition to pressure Iran through economic sanctions while also offering sustained engagement with Iran. None of the pressure has, to date, altered Iran's pursuit of its nuclear program: Iran attended December 2010 ...