ABSTRACT
In 1979, Iran's revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan radically altered the strategic landscape of the oil-rich Persian Gulf region, and in 1984 US security policy still had to confront the challenges generated by those earlier events. Soviet military activity in Afghanistan increased modestly in 1984, and Soviet tactics changed to include greater use of airpower. Pressure on Pakistan also increased, as strikes into Pakistan's territory by units of the Afghan armed forces increased in frequency and intensity. In October 1983 Iranian ground forces struck hard along the northern stretches of the Iran-Iraq border, and as 1984 began Iranian claims of "greater victories" suggested that a major Iranian offensive was in the offing. Most US military planning and diplomatic activity in 1984 focused on the tanker war and the possibility that Iran would seek to make good its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.
