Late in the Iran-Iraq War in 1987, the CIA reported that, “Terrorism is an important instrument of Iranian foreign policy… Tehran has never been made to pay a significant price for the use of terrorist tactics as a political weapon, a factor that reinforces its willingness to use them.” If the US genuinely wants to see Iran come back to the negotiating table, it cannot afford to swerve in the face of the first threat, be it in the maritime or nuclear domains by the Ayatollahs. If it is intimidated by such actions, what was true in 1987 will remain true for the near future.