Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses

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.