TEHRAN – The New York Times, citing U.S. government officials, claimed on January 12 that the Obama administration has sent a secret message to Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warning that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a “red line” that would provoke an American response. 

According to the New York Times, the officials declined to describe the unusual contact between the two governments, and whether there had been an Iranian reply.