White House Looks for Ways to Soothe American Jitters Over Surging Prices

The White House raced to find ways to reassure Americans as oil prices seesawed again on Thursday after a series of Iranian strikes on oil and gas facilities deepened aglobal energy crisisnearly three weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

“War in theMiddle East Advertisement Supported by President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel suggested that the war with Iran could end soon, but that there were still more attacks ahead”

New York Times

President Trump, speaking during an Oval Office meeting with the Japanese prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, said that he would do whatever was necessary to ease the crisis but that it was temporary.

“I thought there was a chance it could be much worse,” he said.

New York Times

“It’s not bad. And it’s going to be over with pretty soon.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said at a news conference on Thursday that the war could end “a lot faster than people think,” though he did not offer a concrete timeline.

“War in theMiddle East Advertisement Supported by President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel suggested that the war with Iran could end soon, but that there were still more attacks ahead”

New York Times

He said that Iran no longer has the ability to enrich uranium or manufacture ballistic missiles, but “there’s still more work to do, and we’re going to do it.”

The strikes further rattled global energy markets, which have already been shaken by Iran’s effective blockade of most Western oil shipments in the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for about one-fifth of the world’s oil.