At a moment when economic siege and territorial ambition are reshaping the Persian Gulf's ancient trade arteries, Iran's newly empowered security chief has drawn a line in the sand for every neighbouring government: stand with Washington, and stand against Tehran. Mohsen Rezaei's warning — delivered from the apex of Iran's security apparatus — reflects not mere bluster but a calculated signal that restraint has limits, and that the Strait of Hormuz has become the fulcrum upon which a broader regional order is being tested. What unfolds now is less a bilateral confrontation than a civilisationa