David Ignatius: As We Head Toward the Midterms, There’s Every Likelihood Now that Oil Prices Will Stay High

EXCERPT:

IGNATIUS: "So, Joe, I think that strategy of economic pressure is the sensible one. A month ago, before I took a little vacation from my journalism, I said, on your show and in the Washington Post, that I thought basically, Trump should shut up, just stop talking about this war, and let the economic pressure push Iran to the point that Iran finally said, 'Okay, you know, let’s talk, time to negotiate. What we’re seeing is that as the economic pressure really begins to have an effect, Iran really is being squeezed now,  they’re pushing back, they’re hurting. So what we just saw in the last few days is the Houthis, their allies in Yemen, beginning to fire directly on Saudi Arabia, causing several dozen casualties in Saudi Arabia, and that has pushed oil prices back up. Donald Trump only talks about how oil prices are going to come down when they’ve just gone up. So we have that. We have broader proxy wars resuming. Israel is on the attack again in Lebanon against Hezbollah. So I think, Joe, we may be entering a new phase in which Iran responds to the economic pressure, and then Trump has to decide whether to just keep squeezing, avoid the military conflict, but I think you and I are saying would would be unwise for him, but make sure that economic pressure is is tight as Iran flails and tries to strike back. But in this period, as we head toward the midterms, there's every likelihood that oil prices will stay high."