Links on the Iran war drumbeat

There is an avalanche of articles suggesting the possibility of war with Iran, either because the sanctions that the Obama administration (and perhaps the European Union) seek to impose will be perceived in Tehran as an act of war, for which the retaliation could be the closing of the Straits of Hormuz, or because of an attempt to destroy or set back Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program by either Israel or the US or both. The call for sanctions — overwhelmingly approved by Congress despite the hardline nature of the sanctions — comes as the P5+1 were about to resume negotiations with Iran over the nuclear issue, and only a month before Iran is set to have elections. Here's a few links — the best one being the first by Gary Sick:

• gary's choices - A Satire on the Costs of a War With Iran
• Pushing Iran towards a nuclear bomb - Opinion - Al Jazeera English
• Hard-line U.S. Policy Tips Iran Toward Belligerence: Vali Nasr - Bloomberg
• US-IRAN: War of Words Calculated to Avoid Actual Conflict - IPS
• Ron Paul: Sanctions against Iran are 'acts of war' - latimes.com
• Exclusive: EU agrees to embargo on Iranian crude - Reuters
• Iran's Self-Destructive Gamble - NYTimes.com
• Will Iran Dare Close the Strait of Hormuz? | The Iran Primer
• Obama's Counterproductive New Iran Sanctions | Foreign Affairs
• NYT Misleads Readers on Iran Crisis
• Will Iran Lash Out at Weak Israel? | The Diplomat
• Muftah » The Political Psychology of Obama’s Iran Policy
• What Have Sanctions Done to Iran's Economy, People? | PBS NewsHour | Jan. 4, 2012 | PBS
• World Oil Transit Chokepoints at U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
• Exclusive: West readies oil plan in case of Iran crisis | Reuters