The Hekmati case has become a source of friction between the United States and Iran, coming against the backdrop of their increasing confrontation over Iran's disputed nuclear program.
With a similar measure moving swiftly through the Senate, the decision by the House increases the prospects for a rare confrontation between Mr. Bush and Congress.
It has also plunked down $4 billion in arms for Armenia's regional rival, Azerbaijan, sharply increasing the chances of a military confrontation between the two.
While increased dialogue between China and the US is expected and necessary, one should also anticipate naval confrontations to continue.
"The provocative aerial bombardments near the border increase the potential of direct confrontation between Sudan and South Sudan," the American statement said.
The chances of direct military confrontation between the US and Russia will increase.
If such a point is reached, the danger of direct military confrontation between Iran and Israel and the west will have increased considerably.
Matt Johnson, the commission's president, demanded an in-depth analysis of use of force by police in Los Angeles and other cities over the past 10 years, as well as a review of LAPD equipment and training, to try to halt the increase in violent confrontations between police and suspects.
Israel's desire to maintain its ability to strike targets it says are threatening it in Syria raises the prospect of an increasingly complex and dangerous combination of military forces with a stake in the Syrian civil war, increasing the risk of confrontations between rival players.
And for the American social anthropologist Stanley Kurtz, the problem is "massive population increases and urban migration throughout the Middle East" and the confrontation between modernity and a traditional social system based on kinship ties.
