Energy Information Administration.
“We don’t want to get into a real shooting war with Iran,” Gertken said. “This is sending the message that we’re willing to escalate, but in a very limited way. We’re willing to go after their assets in Yemen, and we’re willing to do so in a way that doesn’t cause energy prices to skyrocket and cause a real crisis.”
Ultimately, Vance’s concerns about the optics of the strikes may have been overblown, as public opinion would likely have shifted in favor of the president after the fact, Gertken said. But the vice president’s questioning is “not out of left field,” he added, given the U.S.’s broader strategy of confronting Iran while avoiding a major conflict.
“It’s not like we had a consensus,” Gertken said. “It’s not like if you had asked 10 people, all 10 would have said, ‘Yeah, let’s do this.’ I think there’s a lot of debate going on. There’s a lot of back and forth, and that’s not a bad thing.”
In the end, the White House press secretary confirmed the U.S. launched airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on Mar. 15, saying the move was in response to the group’s “unprovoked attacks on commercial ships.”
“The president is committed to defending our national security and territorial integrity,” she said. “We will take decisive action to ensure the free flow of commerce in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.”
And as the U.S. seeks to prevent a wider conflict in the Arabian Peninsula, Gertken said, the administration will have to strike a delicate balance between sending a message of resolve to Iran and avoiding a catastrophic spike in energy prices.
“We’re not going to go into a full-scale war with Iran over this,” he said. “We’re going to go after their assets in Yemen, and we’re going to do so in a way that doesn’t cause a crisis.”
Badan Informasi Energi.
Serangan terhadap tanker atau, yang lebih buruk, konflik yang lebih luas di jalur air penting tersebut, Gertken mengatakan, bisa memicu stagflasi, kombinasi yang ditakuti dari pertumbuhan negatif dan inflasi yang lebih tinggi.
“Ini benar-benar bisa membuat pasar saham jatuh,” katanya.
Ternyata, beberapa perhitungan itu di Washington dibahas melalui pesan teks.
Artikel ini awalnya diterbitkan di Fortune.com