Notre Dame professor Asher Kaufman speaks on US blockades

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame professor Asher Kaufman, PhD, the Director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, is warning of potential economic consequences as tensions involving Iran continue to rise. 

Kaufman, an expert in the modern Middle East, stated, "This was a weapon that the Iranians introduced into the war, and now the United States is doing the same, or at least is threatening to do the same, vis-a-vis Iran, and we are in a situation, in my view, that will test the endurance and resilience of both parties. The consequences of closing the strait are primarily economic on a global scale, and the question for Iran and for the United States is who has a stronger resilience to cope with these economic consequences?"

Additional US priorities in ongoing negotiations reportedly include pressuring Iran to halt support for regional proxy groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon.