Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing retaliation for Iran's attack against Israel, saying, "Whoever attacks us, we will attack them." Iran's strike is the latest in a series of escalating moves in the region, threatening a wider conflict in the Middle East.
The Washington Note founding editor Steve Clemons joins Catalysts to discuss the conflict and how it may impact both the United States and global economy.
"The United States is firmly supportive of Israel's right to defend itself. It was informed by Israel of the attack on Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, before it went forward. And there's a very, very tight relationship. And, of course, the United States is supplying much of the weaponry that Israel is using in these exercises, in these efforts to basically rid itself of some of these challenges," Clemons tells Yahoo Finance.
He notes that Netanyahu is "using the instability of this moment to go after some of Israel's deepest and biggest enemies." While the White House has urged Netanyahu not to widen the conflict, the prime minister is "pretty much ignoring Joe Biden." Thus, Clemons explains that the Biden administration has been put into a position where the only option it has is to stand behind Israel in support.
Benjamin Netanyahu vowing retaliation for Iran's attack against Israel saying quote whoever attacks us, we will attack them. Iran strike is the latest in a series of escalating moves in the region threatening a wider conflict in the Middle East. For more, we're joined by Steve Clements, founding editor of the Washington Notes. Steve, it's great to have you on with us here. I want to discuss your take on the influence that the United States might have in this conflict. I know you've discussed this a lot with your own sources here. To what degree do you think the United States has any control about what might happen with these tensions?
Well, look, first I should say the United States is firmly supportive of Israel's right to defend itself. Uh, it was uh informed by Israel of the attack on Hassan Nasrallah, the head of uh Hezbollah before it went forward. Uh, and there's a very, very tight relationship and of course, United States is supplying much of the weaponry uh that Israel is using uh in these, in these exercises and in these efforts to basically rid itself of some of these challenges. That said, we've seen now for nearly a year, really since October uh 7th that Israel and its Prime Minister and its leadership right now, Benjamin Netanyahu have largely, they've played along with the United States and White House pressure to be cautious, to not widen the conflict. And really, what you see is Prime Minister Netanyahu has a plan, he's very focused. Uh, he's using the instability of this moment to go after some of uh Israel's deepest and and biggest enemies. Uh, and he is not really listening to President Biden. So, when you ask the question of how much influence the White House has, it has potential influence of cutting off, you know, weapons support, but it's not going to do that. And right now, we see Prime Minister Netanyahu pretty much ignoring Joe Biden. And so the only option the White House has to do is to really line up with Israel, show its support, uh and see, you know, watch how Israel plays out this next uh set of steps.
Steve, what are the ramifications for the global economy and I guess when you're putting this type of event into context, are we almost starting to enter or on at risk of entering uncharted waters?
Well, we are in uncharted waters, but let's be clear, both of these adversaries know each other really, really well. We've seen not just in this past year, but in over many years calculated hits back and forth uh between uh the IDF and Israeli forces uh and and, you know, terrorist operations, Hezbollah, Hamas, uh and beyond that, you know, Iran's other proxies and the IRGC. We've seen recently the uh assassination of Ishmael Han, the head of the political head of Hamas. Of course, we had Nasrallah killed and Israel has shown a very, very robust capacity to take down its rivals. And of course, we've seen uh an incredible incursion, really the demolition, if you will, of Gaza. So, I think in this space, we are already in uncharted territory because you're seeing huge swats of land being destroyed, you're seeing incursions across borders, you know, Israel has not gone into Lebanon since 2006. And while Iran has hit and it's sent 180 ballistic missiles, there were no casualties that we know of. There were no, I mean they were intercepted. It really shows the prowess of Israeli technology and US technological support. But I think in this, what's really important to remember is both sides are posturing as well to show their audiences, to show their citizens that they're not going to take it from the other side. And we're in a tit-for-tat escalation right now. Iran has communicated that its attack is over, that it doesn't want to do anymore and Israel is saying that's not good enough. We're going to make you pay for what you did, uh Iran. And so there are a lot of people that now expect because of that posturing from Israel, it's hard to back up from that and Israel will strike in some ways. So, when you ask what impact would this have on the global economy? Well, Iran is a major oil producer and anything that raises anxiety about the flow of oil in that region could contribute significantly uh to concerns about shipping.
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He adds that Israel and Iran are in a "tit-for-tat escalation" at the moment, as both sides are trying to prove that "they're not going to take it from the other side." While Iran has announced that its attack is over, Israel will likely retaliate. If Israel were to attack Iran, it could cause global concerns about oil supply, as it is a major producer.
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