In short
The episode discusses a “new normal” in the U.S.-Iran conflict: a fragile, open-ended ceasefire without a formal deal, with tensions still simmering and oil near $100/bbl. Ray Takei (CFR Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies; former State Department senior advisor on Iran; author of The Last Shaw and Guardians of the Revolution) argues the stalemate is driven less by nuclear weapons than by Iran’s leverage over Strait of Hormuz maritime traffic. He says Iran may seek security guarantees and potentially monetize/charge tolls, while the U.S. would need prolonged concentration of naval assets to ensure safe passage. He warns the status quo is hard to sustain for both sides and that global costs (gas prices, Europe/developing-country impacts) matter. Seth Jones (CSIS Defense and Security Department president; RAND and DoD/SOCOM background; author of Three Dangerous Men) adds that diplomacy is the only realistic off-ramp, but Iran’s standoff missiles and mines/cruise-missile capability will remain leverage.
Notable examples
shipping disruption, insurance/oil-price effects, and regional partner threats via the Houthis.
Guests
Ray Takei and Seth Jones.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOUnderstanding the US-Iran Situation
2:17 to 3:04
Explore the current state of the US-Iran relationship amid ongoing tensions.
“It does feel like a little bit of a standstill.”
Ray Takei on the New Normal
3:04 to 6:04
Insights from Ray Takei on the implications of a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran.
“I could go on and on, but we know we like to talk with you, Ray.”
Economic Implications of the US-Iran Standstill
6:04 to 10:51
Discussion on how the US-Iran tensions impact global economies and regional stability.
“Besides that, you're going to have to come to some agreement with the Iranians where they have some leverage over what gets through and whatnot.”
Future Insights and Closing Remarks
10:51 to 11:42
Ray Takei offers final thoughts on the evolving dynamics in the region.
“The United States seem to have gotten into this war without having clear reasons why.”
Current U.S.-Iran Tensions
15:03 to 16:15
Explore the ongoing struggles between the U.S. and Iran over strategic control and diplomatic solutions.
“and Iran are locked in this battle for the control of the strait right now, and they remain really far apart on key issues, including Iran's nuclear program, support for militant groups in the Middle East.”
Iran's Strategic Positioning
16:15 to 20:38
Discuss Iran's leverage in the Strait of Hormuz and its implications for regional stability.
“But I guess what I'm saying is is these key issues, Iran's nuclear program and support for militant groups in the Middle East.”
Future of U.S.-Iran Conflict
20:38 to 22:51
Examine the evolving dynamics of the U.S.-Iran conflict and potential future scenarios.
“Is that a better position for Iran than it was in at the start of the conflict?”
The China-Russia-Iran Alliance
22:51 to 24:16
Delve into the alliance between China, Russia, and Iran and its significance in global politics.
“you wrote this book, Three Dangerous Men, Russia, China, Iran, and the Rise of Irregular Warfare.”
Importance of U.S.-China Relations
24:16 to 25:08
Understand the critical importance of dialogue between the U.S. and China amidst tensions.
“So I think we'll see the Russians and Chinese continue to be pretty active.”
Market Insights on the Strait and Iran
28:00 to 29:50
Discussion on market predictions regarding the reopening of the strait and its implications.
“So at some point the strait's going to be open, and so we're bullish long term.”
Show all 18 chapters
Economic Strategies and Market Reactions
29:50 to 31:38
Exploration of economic strategies and their potential impact on market performance.
“Well, the way we see it unfolding is we do think it's a good strategy to blockade the straits.”
Earnings and Stock Movements
31:38 to 32:39
Analysis of how energy prices and earnings affect stock market dynamics.
“And so actually my 8 ,000 target is conservative based on our assumptions about interest rates.”
Investment Opportunities in Energy and Private Equity
32:39 to 36:14
Insights into investment opportunities in energy sectors and the outlook for private equity firms.
“So listen, we only have about three minutes left here.”
Quick Take on Amazon's Market Position
36:14 to 36:44
Brief analysis of Amazon's market position and valuation compared to Walmart.
“30 seconds on Amazon because you have said it is the poster child for the rotation being overdone.”
AI Developments and Company Strategies
36:44 to 38:06
Discussion about AI advancements and the strategies of tech companies in the evolving landscape.
“Jay Hatfield, CEO and CIO at Infrastructure Capital Advisors joining us.”
Concerns Over AI Security and Unauthorized Access
38:06 to 41:41
Exploration of security concerns related to unauthorized access of AI models.
“They released an AI coding assistant back in 2023, actually around the same time that Elon Musk launched his AI startup.”
The Paradox of Insurance
44:08 to 45:02
Explore how insurance policies can create financial surprises despite intentions.
“We buy insurance for peace of mind, yet the very policies we trust can deliver the biggest financial shocks.”
Insights on the Propane Market
45:25 to 53:31
Michael Stievela discusses the current state and dynamics of the propane market.
“We're checking it out on the Bloomberg up approximately 25 percent since the U.S.”
Transcript
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1:47Carol Massar:Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News.
2:17Carol Massar:All right, folks, we've been watching in terms of new developments on the war. It does feel like a little bit of a standstill. Bloomberg Economics putting out some research and writing today that in another reversal, President Trump announced a unilateral, open-ended extension of the ceasefire on the war in Iran. Now there's no peace, but no act of war either. This may become the new normal, a fragile ceasefire without a formal deal with tensions simmering, sporadic flare-ups and oil near$100. Is that kind of our new reality going forward? I think a lot of people would look at$100 a barrel for oil and say that is not a reality that we want to live in for a long period of time.
2:54Carol Massar:It's not where it was at the beginning of the year, right? It was about$60, yeah. Yeah, big difference. So it does feel like kind of we're at a standstill of sorts, heading towards that new normal. We have so many questions for our next guest. Back with us is Ray Takei. He's Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, author of several books, including The Last Shaw, America, Iran in the fall of the Pavlavi dynasty and guardians of the revolution, Iran in the world in the age of the Ayatollahs, former senior advisor in Iran at the State Department, a fellow at Yale and the Middle East Center at UC Berkeley.
3:28Carol Massar:I could go on and on, but we know we like to talk with you, Ray. Good to have you back with Tim and myself. We are thinking a lot about, is this a new normal? It does feel like we're at a bit of a standstill. Well, Iran knows the Strait of Hormuz is its power, its leverage. I think it's safe to say this White House wants this war over. They don't want to spend. They want to move on. There's midterms coming. Are we headed, though, to a new normal, which comes with new metrics on energy markets and more when it comes to the U.S.-Iran relationship? And if that's true, what do you see as that new normal?
4:05Well, if this is the new normal, I'm not quite sure it's sustainable for either country. One of the things that the Islamic Republic has learned from this crisis is they have an ability to disrupt global economies by disrupting global commerce and maritime commerce to the Gulf. And that is not going to change. One of the reasons, in my view, these negotiations are stalemated is not necessarily because of the nuclear issue, although there are many disagreements between the two sides on that. But moving forward, the Iranians believe they have a right to have a say in what goes through the Gulf and what stays out of the Gulf.
4:43And that includes perhaps monetizing their geographic position, charging tolls for various ships and so forth on some kind of a discriminatory basis. And the basis of that discrimination being politics. So they have learned that this new situation gives them leverage, a security guarantee. and unlike nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons are something that they could not really use. No country can use it effortlessly, but blocking straight traffic is something they can do whenever they wish as they are doing it now. So we're in a situation where status quo ante, in my opinion, is not really to be recreated.
5:22Maybe the president knows that, maybe he doesn't. So if that's not to be recreated, then how does the U.S. and how do the U.S. and Iran move past this standstill that we're seeing right now? The only way the Gulf can be secure, the only way traffic can get through Gulf with some degree of confidence of safe passage would be considerable concentration of American naval assets for a prolonged, if not indefinite period of time. That is not a commitment that the president has asked the American people to make. But that would essentially ensure that any national waterway is operated free of Iranian hazards.
6:05Besides that, you're going to have to come to some agreement with the Iranians where they have some leverage over what gets through and whatnot. But also, there is a considerable cost to the Iranian government themselves. Right now, we're playing this game. Both countries are imposing costs on each other. Obviously, the United States can impose significantly more economic costs on Iran than Iran can on the U.S. But the question isn't the magnitude of the pressure that we can impose and they can impose. The question is which body politic is better prepared or more willing to endure that pressure, United States with higher gas prices or Iran with a crumbling economy.
6:43That's the context. And I'm not sure if the president have prepared the public for that particular context. the way the Iranian government is trying to do with however degree of success with its own people.
6:53Carol Massar:So, Ray, is it more about then, it's interesting what you just said, it's not about Iran necessarily having nuclear weapons that they can't really use, but this important channel, the Strait of Hormuz and controlling that. Is this about kind of changing their economy? And so being able to charge for people who go through that, and then create, you know, broaden out their economy. I bring that up because there's so many fascinating stories on the Bloomberg about, you know, UAE and talks about a possible financial lifeline. It just struck me as odd. I just thought this whole region was so wealthy.
7:29Carol Massar:But we also know that they've been trying to change their economy. We had another story about the Saudi Gulf, Live Golf, right, that they're hinting, you know, that they, I think, had talked about getting out of it or shutting it down, the losses. They've all been trying to change their economies, evolve their economies, make it less energy independent. Is that what Iran is trying to do? Well, paradoxically enough, given the fact that the sanctions that Iran has to live with, 50 % of the Iranian economy doesn't rely on oil revenues. So this is essentially an economy, I wouldn't say it has diversified, But it has certainly, by compulsion of sanctions, managed to essentially develop other sectors.
8:15And whenever you have 92 million people in the country, you have a domestic economy of some sort in terms of internal arrangements and so forth. But the Gulf, the ability to exert influence over the Gulf is not just in terms of monetizing it and getting financial dividends. It's also a strategic lever. it is a strategic deterrent because the way they essentially try to safeguard their boundaries, their border, their territorial integrity from being attacked as they were twice in June and March is by playing the golf cart. And this is not just directed against the United States. I'm not sure if the United States has an appetite for another military campaign in Iran, but it's really also directed against Israel.
8:54The Israelis do recognize that the containment of Iran will require periodic military attacks. And now I'm not sure if that's in the card anymore. But it raises the question, and to Carol's point, about what happens in the region if the US and Iran agree to something, but Israel's not necessarily party to that. I'm not quite sure on the nuclear issue that can happen. The Israelis obviously have to be part of it. But in terms of the Gulf traffic, I don't know if the United States and Iran can agree to kind of ensure the safety of the traffic of the Gulf. I think that's an American obligation. I don't put that much stock into the Europeans doing so.
9:33And as I said, this is not the case that the president has made. It certainly is not the case because the American people are opposed to this war by a two to one margin. That is not a basis for sustained policy in any region, much less in a volatile region such as the Middle East.
9:49Carol Massar:So come back to this global inside piece that our team put out there, our Bloomberg economics team, no peace, no war, the new U.S. are on normal. Do we stay maybe in this situation for a lot longer? Well, we can stay in this situation if we're prepared to absorb the costs in terms of economic penalties, gas prices, and so forth. I'm not quite sure if that's the situation. It's a particularly dire circumstances for the Europeans and for many developing countries, whether it's India, Africa, and so forth. So this is not just about the American economy, it's about the global economy. And that obviously has an effect on how American economy becomes stable or unstable.
10:32The Iranians have one advantage, their economy is a basket case. So they're already living in sort of primitive economic conditions. But even they have a problem because their economic situation can lend itself to political revolt. And that creates a domestic unrest problem that they would have to deal with. This is not an easy situation for any of the actors involved. The United States seem to have gotten into this war without having clear reasons why. They're not really sure how to prosecute this war that they find itself in the middle of, and no one has an exit strategy or an off ramp that they're willing to take.
11:08You know, you remind me of what we're going to be talking about just in about an hour. It's today's big take. It's one of the most read stories on the Bloomberg Terminal. It's about satellite imaging and the destruction in Tehran that we've been able, that our team has been able to gather. But the economic question, Ray, that you bring up is a really important one.
11:23Carol Massar:Well, and he talked about, you know, parts of Europe and Asia. I mean, Lufthansa scrubbing 20 ,000 summer flights to save fuel costs. So it's already, and we know there's a lot more serious stories, as you mentioned, Ray, in the developing economy. Always love talking with you. Ray Takei, Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Business Week Daily coming Coming up after this.
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14:35tested a U.S. blockade. For more on this, we're joined by Seth Jones, president of the Defense and Security Department over at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Previously, he was at the Rand Corporation. He also served in the office of the Secretary of Defense and U.S. Special Operations Command. He teaches at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate Naval School and more places. He is the author of many books, including Three Dangerous Men, Russia, China, Iran, and the rise of irregular warfare. Seth, good to have you on the program. Thanks. The U.S. and Iran are locked in this battle for the control of the strait right now, and they remain really far apart on key issues, including Iran's nuclear program, support for militant groups in the Middle East.
15:14Before we sort of dive into strategy and the impact on the defense is here in the U.S. and other countries, how do you think this negotiation actually brings an end to this war? Well, I think both sides at this point don't want a protracted war. It certainly doesn't help the Iranians because their infrastructure is being damaged. There's been a significant impact on their missile production and missile production facilities. The same thing with drones. Navy's been sunk. And on the U.S. side, I don't think there's a lot of stomach right now for putting boots on the ground or putting naval vessels into areas like the Strait of Hormuz.
16:01So some casualty aversion. So I think what that what that indicates is we're really the we're only going to end this war with some kind of diplomatic solution right now, because I think both sides have decided that a protracted war is not in either side's interest. But I guess what I'm saying is is these key issues, Iran's nuclear program and support for militant groups in the Middle East. There's so there's so much space between where the U.S. wants Iran to be and where Iran wants to be. And I just I yeah, I don't know how that specifically the nuclear issue. I don't know how that how that is abandoned by Iran to or or they do something that is satisfactory to this administration.
16:46Well, look, I think the reality is that in negotiations in general, there are elements that you might like to have, but at the end of the day, you know, are unrealistic. So even if you look at the Iranian 10-point plan and some of the statements that the U.S. had made, I think it's just unrealistic. And I think U.S. officials know this, that Iran is going to stop all aid to its partner forces in the region. And that includes Lebanon, that's Hezbollah, the Iraqi Shia militias, the Houthis in Yemen and other locations. At the same time, I think it's also unlikely, and you just can't predict this, that the Iranians are going to stop all enrichment forever.
17:28But I think the issue is, can you get to a point where Iran gets some relief? And it's both because ships start going through that allow them to both export and import. And then there is some deal which may actually look like some element of the JCPOA that we the Iranians already agreed to, where they will agree to not enrich uranium at a certain level for a certain period of time. I mean, look, the reality is that they actually have a much more successful deterrent than a nuclear weapon. And that is standoff missiles that can hit ships in the Strait of Hormuz. That's actually better in many ways than a nuclear weapon.
18:16Carol Massar:I still love that you went there. We talked to Ray Takei over at the Council on Foreign Relations in our two o 'clock hour. And he said, you know, it's not really about nuclear weapons that they can't really use. It's about the Strait of Hormuz. Like they have found, we know how to bring the world to its knees. We control it. We block it off. So what I'm wondering is, you know, how they know they've got that tool. So you said that we need a diplomatic solution. That's what you kicked it off with. Is there a diplomatic solution? You know, because both have to be concerned. I'm thinking about the U.S.
18:52Carol Massar:and Iran and the region are concerned about their national security. So Iran in particular, how do they, is that their weapon now forever? And so they're going to weaponize, monetize the strait and going to say, all right, we'll end this. We own this. This is ours. And whether you have to pay for it to go through, like there's some way that they're going to control that. That's what they want to get out of it. Is that the end game for them? Well, look, first of all, there are two straits. Most of what we're talking about is the Strait of Hormuz. But their partner force, the Houthis, do have actually an ability to strike targets in the Babam and Deb Strait.
19:33So, I mean, I don't want to forget that they do have an ability to threaten more than one strategic economic choke point. But I think when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, I think it's going to be hard to reach a deal, particularly for Gulf states to be OK with a situation where the Iranians essentially get paid a toll for every ship that goes through that area. But I think at the very least, the Iranians will have the ability to use an anti-ship cruise missile or lay mines or conduct other types of standoff attacks against ships at any time from now and into the future, which can affect oil prices, it can affect insurance rates.
20:18So I think what we do, what we are likely to see is the Iranians either threatening to use or potentially even using the ability to strike targets in the strait as a negotiating tactic, even if they agree to something which, you know, it doesn't look like a toll in the Strait of Hormuz. But again, it's leverage. They will have leverage now. Is that a better position for Iran than it was in at the start of the conflict? I mean, notwithstanding the, obviously, the economic toll, the humanitarian toll the country has taken, the toll to the government, but now the fact that they can wield this economic power?
20:57Well, I think it is a tool that they were not utilizing at the beginning of the war. Again, as you noted, it's hard to square that with an economy that is in shambles, a military that has had its top leadership assassinated, its navy sunk at the bottom of the ocean, and its missile and drone programs sent severely degraded. But it is a tool that it has right now. I'm not quite sure when you look at the trade-offs that it was necessarily worth it. But I think we're going to see the strait being used as leverage going forward. And to be fair, I mean, you know, chicken or egg,
21:36Carol Massar:who started this war? But I mean, the U.S. and Israel, right, started this. i mean i understand all the terrorism and so on and so forth well i think our guest yesterday in the four o 'clock hour would argue with that the former ambassador who might say who might have who referred to this starting several years ago several years ago yeah that's what i say yeah there's a tortured history here i i understand that um yeah yeah i mean that's the way i would look at it anyway i think i mean i think this is just a phase uh this phase is not oh i mean this this war is not over. We'll just see this migrate into a different phase.
22:12But I mean, I think even last year you looked at the Israelis and the Iranians were trading salvos, including ones that two big salvos of the Iranians shot at the at at cities like Tel Aviv. I think what we're seeing this year is just a new phase of this war. And we'll see one after this ceasefire maybe becomes more permanent. I don't think we're done seeing it. I actually think what the Israelis will do is they now have air dominance and the ability to get air dominance. If they see activity edit around some of the nuclear facilities, I think they'll fly if 35's in and strike targets. So I think we're not out of this one.
22:50Carol Massar:You know, Seth, one thing I want to ask you about, you wrote this book, Three Dangerous Men, Russia, China, Iran, and the Rise of Irregular Warfare. I think about that alliance a lot, Russia, China, and Iran. Does that alliance continue? And have We've seen it at play in an interesting way here with this U.S. conflict with Iran. Yeah, it has been interesting. I think the core of that alliance or access, as some have used that term, is still the Chinese. I mean, they are the largest population-wise, by far the largest economy, and have the largest military. Second is the Chinese-Russian access.
23:29And we know the relationship with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping is actually quite close. They've met over 50 times. And then I think then you get into countries like Iran. I mean, on the one hand, the Chinese and Russians have not exactly provided significant aid to the Iranians who have largely been left alone to fend for themselves during this conflict. On the other hand, you know, it is certainly true that there's been some non-military assistance that's been provided. Satellite imagery, for example, both the Russians and Chinese have provided. I think what will be interesting is to what degree those countries, Russia and China, help try to rebuild Iran with air defense systems after that or components for Iran's drone and missile program.
24:15Some of that, there's been some recent reporting that the Chinese, for example, have already started to ship some goods in before this blockade started. So I think we'll see the Russians and Chinese continue to be pretty active. Seth, we only have 30 seconds left, but Andreas Kluth for Bloomberg Opinion, who covers U.S. diplomacy, writes for Bloomberg Opinion today, maybe President Trump shouldn't visit Xi after all. Do you agree with that? Should the president not go to China? I actually think the U.S.-Chinese relationship is quite important. I think it's important for those two leaders to talk.
Read the full transcript
24:49They've got a lot to talk about, particularly on the economic side. I know the Chinese want to talk about Taiwan as well. But I do think it's important for the U.S. and Chinese leaders to talk through a range of issues. And my general view is more talk is actually better. So I would advise going.
25:07Carol Massar:And Andreas writing that Xi Jinping may use the meeting to turn U.S. arms sales to Taiwan into a bargaining chip and prod President Trump into a subtle change of language regarding Taiwanese independence. I mean, it's all just so interesting. I hope that does not happen, by the way. OK. Seth Jones, president of the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and International Studies there in our D.C. Bureau. This is the Bloomberg Business Week Daily Podcast. Listen live each weekday starting at 2 p.m. Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station.
25:44Just say, Alexa, play Bloomberg 1130. Interestingly enough, we're seeing chip makers rising for 16th straight day. Longest ever advance there. There are also some individual stocks making big moves. But the earnings picture, as you were saying earlier, is setting the tone that says, wait a second, investors at least to a certain extent have looked beyond the high cost of energy right now. And that's not at least bleeding in.
26:08Carol Massar:Kind of looking through. For all companies. For getting used to it. Yeah, exactly. Well, our next guest has a target of$8 ,000 on the S &P by the end of the year. So we want to talk about that. He also, among his recommendations, it includes an iconic private equity firm that has limited exposure to private credit. Those are his words. words. And then also another company that he calls the poster child for the rotation being overdone. So we have a lot of names you want to get to. Jay Hatfield is CEO and chief investment officer of the RIA infrastructure capital advisors. It's got about$3.6 billion in assets under management.
26:38He joins us here in the Bloomberg Businessweek studio. We got to start with the, I keep calling it the backdrop to the trade, but that's what it is. And it's high energy prices. And it does seem like traders are looking beyond the war, yet it's hard for a lot of people to say there is a clear end to this how are you looking at that thanks for having me on tim and carol well we do a ton of research on energy i founded an energy company and our first etf amza is a pipeline company so we have a global supply and demand model and so the way we framed it is there's a good rule of thumb that works extraordinarily well which is every million barrels of lost capacity is$5.
27:18So if you frame it that way, if the straight was shut down forever, then the oil price would be about$140 a barrel. Because, you know, there's elasticities of demand or sensitivity and supply. And, you know, we started out roughly at 60. And so our point since the beginning of the war is that 100 is probably going to be an inflection point. because there's almost 100 % certainty at some point the strait will reopen. You essentially have every country in the world who wants to have it open. Now Iran, so we think that's a good strategy to blockade. Probably not Russia, but that's not that important.
27:57So what we always try to do is look longer term. So at some point the strait's going to be open, and so we're bullish long term. And we were bullish in mid-March because there's a cycle of fear and greed. So greed occurs during earnings season, like now. And fear occurs when there's no earnings and you have hedge funds and other momentum investors typically overshorting stocks, like KKR, for instance, in our opinion.
28:25Carol Massar:Yeah. And a lot of the tech companies. So that's why we all have jobs, is that you have these inefficiencies in the markets. So you're saying, though, longer term, you assume and you assume this year that the straight will reopen and probably sooner rather than later, in your view, because it is Iran is feeling the pressure, the price. And even though we had an earlier guest who said they're used to an economy that's just decimated and having problems. And so maybe their threshold for pain is greater. There's a reality that they need the straight open. Absolutely. And. the other Middle Eastern countries do.
29:05Pakistan, once it opened, they're mediating. So we just try to stick to the most likely case and not all these outlier cases like, oh, the strait never reopens and we'll sell all of our stocks. And then you miss out on big rallies. I think the concern for some people is the strait opens, but Iran continues enriching uranium and the US and Israel don't want to see that happen. So then you're sort of back to this, what you had before the war, Yet the leadership in Iran has been decapitated by whatever measure you want to use. And that economy has been severely destroyed. And you have a military operation that has cost the U.S.
29:46untold hundreds of billions of dollars, tens of billions of dollars at this point. Well, the way we see it unfolding is we do think it's a good strategy to blockade the straits. So we actually went long the futures when they were off 70 handles over the weekend. I think it was last weekend or weekend before. But if that doesn't work, we think that the strait will be reopened by force, possibly using ground troops. Really? So that there isn't going to be a case where the uranium still stays there that will destroy their energy infrastructure, use ground troops, and just open it up.
30:18Carol Massar:So it escalates. Right. Before it ends. Yeah, so that would be a negative inflection for the market. We kind of saw that yesterday. a, you know, how negative though, and how long does it last? Because of this target and the fundamentals, which we can get into, uh, we think it'll be a pretty shallow dip. Like it really was like actually March's, uh, activity in the stock market was super bullish because that's the best you can do for a sell-off in the U S at least. Then that means that we're probably going to go higher when things settle down. So that's why you're holding to that 8 ,000 target.
30:48Well, actually, you know, it's valuable to come on and do appearances because I don't really always love doing appearances. So I try to have good data. So I use this thing. I don't know if you're aware of it, but it's called the Bloomberg terminal and you can get consensus. And so, and it's sort of definitive because people like me use it. So, and there's a great function, uh, SPX index EEO go, and I said it to annual and I said, oh my God. I mean, of course we should do this more often. We based our 8 ,000 target on 350 and it's now 375 and you can even click on it. I'm doing that now and you get this fabulous chart of what happened and you see the, I guess it's the yellow line.
31:35No, it's the purple line. It just took off like a rocket. And so actually my 8 ,000 target is conservative based on our assumptions about interest rates. So at 375, if we get there, we're, we're far away. We would be, our target would go up to 8 ,600. So we think 8 ,000 is easy now, even at today's rates. And so it's critical to stay on top. And we do believe in consensus. We don't, we're not like a lot of strategies to say, Oh, well, we're bearish on earnings and we're going to haircut it. Like that's the consensus. It's on the terminal. So everybody's
32:09Carol Massar:looking at so to be fair it's earnings it's it's fundamentally based you're just looking at what the companies are doing and as long as they are hitting these numbers like you can fundamentally trade on them i mean they're giving us kind of when they give us an update they're telling us how they feel and how they're doing against this macro war backdrop absolutely and that's why i said be focused on the long term because those numbers are not only not going down they're actually going up so why should you sell your stocks because of the problems in the middle east let's go ahead well i just have i'm gonna talk names okay we'll talk names and just i i just i think people would be listening to this or watching this and they're saying wait a second what about those higher energy prices flowing through and affecting earnings because it affects the top line if customers are paying more at the gas pump uh and it affects the bottom line if these companies have to their inputs are more expensive well that would be a disaster if we're in europe or asia but in the u.s the energy prices have come down to only be three percent of consumer we're spending and we have free natural gas i mean i'm exaggerating but it's nearly free carol was looking at a chart earlier yeah they actually go down when oil prices are higher because it's a waste product of drilling for oil my product right and so it goes down and that's the biggest advantage you could ever possibly create this is why the notion that the u.s is lost is it's exceptionalism is ridiculous because you can't change history we have all those those hydrocarbons that came from the inland sea that used to be there it's not the 70s and we're in the oil lines because we're so dependent on oil outside the united states and one thing that almost nobody ever talks about we had wage and price controls yeah on the entire 70s which was i didn't even realize till recently even though i was alive but that was a disaster our production plummeted during the 70s so you know we obviously don't have that so we have production that's why it's only$5 per million because we're going to produce more in the U S.
34:02Carol Massar:So listen, we only have about three minutes left here. So you do like, speaking of the energy sector, you like Chenier, ticker LNG. It's up about 32 % year to date. It's going to report the first week of May. Why that name in particular? Well, MLPs and infrastructure, master limited partnerships. Yeah. And pipelines are interesting because people kind of hate them. Yeah. Like they never go up. They haven't gone up for two years. So you could say, oh, I don't want to go into these mo trades if we're correct about a war ending. But they're trading at really reasonable multiples. And they're going to benefit long term because actually the destruction of capacity is long term in the Middle East.
34:43So they have a great situation where everybody wants to source their natural gas now from the U.S. So they have a long term advantage. So a good value stock, it'll come down when the war ends, but it's a great long term investment. You mentioned KKR earlier, so I want to give some time on your view on KKR, which is down 16 % this year. There's some concerns when it comes to credit, when it comes to private equity.
35:04Carol Massar:And the firm has said that they've got limited exposure to private credit, but they have limited some of their cap withdrawals on one of their asset-based finance funds because redemptions were above that. Well, what happens in the market— Redemption requests were above that. And again, this is why we have jobs—is that people say, oh, alternative asset managers, they create a basket and they just short them every day. and KKR is in the basket. They don't do any work and say private credit is 15%. And it's probably the best or one of the two best financial services brands in the world. And that's important because they're going in and pitching to CalPERS.
35:43And we could go pitch CalPERS on managing their money for 100 years and never get any money. So there's only a few companies like that. So why should that trade at 10 times earnings? It's rallied, like, you know, that's off the lows, but that should be a 2030 multiple company because they raised$23 billion last month during a terrible month. So that company's not going away to have permanent capital and they have limited exposure. So we prefer that company to ones like Apollo that do have a lot of exposure, private credit.
36:13Carol Massar:I hate to do this, but we're going to do it. 30 seconds on Amazon because you have said it is the poster child for the rotation being overdone. It does report next Wednesday and it's up about 9 % year to date, just quickly. So quickly, Walmart trades at 43 times, Amazon at 22 times. Amazon grows over 20. And so you have a peg ratio of four versus one. I'll pick the peg ratio of one. Really interesting. And there's so much going on with that company. I feel like we've had so much news in the AI world, too, about what Jeff Bezos and Amazon is after. Jay, come back soon. Great. Thanks for having me.
36:46Carol Massar:Really enjoyed it. Jay Hatfield, CEO and CIO at Infrastructure Capital Advisors joining us. This is the Bloomberg Business Week Daily Podcast. Listen live each weekday starting at 2 p.m. Eastern on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app. You can also listen live on Amazon Alexa from our flagship New York station. Just say Alexa, play Bloomberg 1130. We've got to get to that other big topic that we were talking about a lot before the war. We still talk about it, and that is AI. Yeah, a small group of unauthorized users of Access Anthropics' new Mythos AI model, which the company says can enable dangerous cyber attacks.
37:26And as Tesla gets ready to report later on today, the story about how SpaceX has an agreement to acquire the AI startup cursor for about$60 billion later this year or pay$10 billion for the companies to work together.
37:37Carol Massar:He's been listening to the latest on the war and waiting patiently. Seth Figerman is back with us. He is Bloomberg News AI editor. I want to start with Tesla and their kind of evolving world. And it's really SpaceX as that world of Elon continues to evolve. What is Cursor and why does SpaceX want it? Sure. And thank you for the education on everything. You're welcome. Cursor is a really buzzy, fast-growing AI coding startup. If you've heard the phrase vibe coding, a lot of that is because of Cursor. They released an AI coding assistant back in 2023, actually around the same time that Elon Musk launched his AI startup.
38:13And it really changed the way a lot of software developers think about coding. It can streamline the process of writing and debugging code. I'm not a coder.
38:21Carol Massar:Tim's been working on it. Oh, cool. I've been trying. The vibes aren't great, let's just say that. But I've been trying to do some vibes. But is it just a looser way of, like, talking to, like, figuring it out? I think what they've done is a lot of their product is basically built on and around the existing models from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic and sort of packaging in a way that was particularly compelling and easy to use for developers. They had their own proprietary models, and they were looking to kind of double down on that because they also face growing competition from OpenAI and Anthropic and a long list of other startups.
38:52I'm glad you went there because, you know, you can vibe code with OpenAI's ChatGPT. You can do it with Anthropic. A lot of places, yeah. To Carol's point, can't you do it using tools from XAI, or they just haven't been able to figure that out? So, XAI historically has done well at some things. I mean, it's easy sometimes to write off Elon as having a lot of bluster, but they did kind of build pretty quickly a compelling large language model to power their chatbot based on a lot of data from Twitter or X. I still call it Twitter. It's okay. You're in a good company. I know. I'll never stop. But they have not been as credibly competitive on the coding front.
39:26And maybe you could have looked past that at one time, but increasingly we've seen that this is the revenue generator. This is the proven lucrative market for the big AI companies. But it seems like at this point, it's turning into a commodity. Because if OpenAI can do it, if Anthropic can do it, if the other startups that you said can do it. I'd say yes and no. I think there's a lot of players in the market right now. But there's still a big difference between the ones that are kind of the bleeding edge, like Anthropic and OpenAI, and the rest. Anthropic, every few weeks, every couple of months puts out a product saying it can code autonomously for longer.
39:59It can deal with more sophisticated problems. It can act more and more like a senior engineer. And maybe to you and I, those distinctions aren't always immediately apparent, but it's just getting better. And so I think that's also made everyone else in that space have to play catch up a little bit. And at the moment, that's key to the enterprise.
40:17Carol Massar:I feel like it's why, you know, when we talk with Mark Gurman about Apple, it's like, you know, I think to us it makes somewhat sense of like, yeah, let's rely on Gemini. Let Google and Alphabet spend all that money and figure it out and we'll just use it. But he seems to continue to stress, Mark does, that Apple needs to be in on its own. So there's a feeling broadly in AI, not just about coding, but certainly there that you're seeing a handful of companies start to pull away. Now, it's not impossible to catch up there. You're watching companies like Meta who sort of slip behind and they're spending gobs of money to try to get back in that upper echelon.
40:48But I think you're seeing Anthropic and OpenAI and Google start to pull away from the crowd a little bit.
40:53Carol Massar:Can we do 40 seconds? I know we're going to like Anthropics mythos. We think it's the way I say both ways. Yes, mythos or mythos is being accessed by unauthorized users. 40 seconds. What do we need to know about this? Look, this is a product that Anthropica said is dangerous enough that they wanted to limit the release of it for fear of someone using it to potentially hack or exploit vulnerabilities in every major piece of critical software. So, if even one person out there has access who shouldn't, it seems concerning. We're still sussing out how broad that access is. Sounds not great, Seth. The look Tim gave me.
41:2240 seconds.
41:23Carol Massar:No, but as Seth, as you described it, I mean, we're in uncharted territory, right? Not great, Bob. Do we know who these people were? We can't say, but. Oh, OK. Oh, I like that. Mysterious. All right. Follow this space for more. Please do. Really good. Thank you. So well. Seth Vigerman, he is AI editor at Bloomberg News, joining us here in studio. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Businessweek Daily coming up after this.
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45:24Carol Massar:Propane generic futures. We're checking it out on the Bloomberg up approximately 25 percent since the U.S. war in Iran began. For some perspective, WTI crude futures are up about 40 percent since the start of the war. Nat Gas down nearly 4 percent since the war began. We're mentioning these prices kind of overall. Right now, for those who are watching on TV and on YouTube and on Bloomberg Originals, you're taking a look at Nat Gas and New York Crude. But we're mentioning these different prices because all are taken into account when it comes to the production and pricing of propane. We went through a little bit of a deep dive and a little bit of an energy lesson.
45:58You could say? Yeah. Okay, well, let's bring in somebody who does not need a quick study. No. The president and CEO at the more than$1.2 billion market cap company Suburban Propane, Michael Stievela is with us, joining us from the New York Stock Exchange. Mike, good to have you on the program. So bring us up to speed on the propane market, specifically the propane that you sell, where it comes from, how it's processed, and then also what you've seen when it comes to pricing since the war began. Great. Thanks for having me. You know, first of all, Suburban Propane, we're a domestic retailer of propane.
46:29And so we source about 99 percent of our propane right here in the good old United States of America. We're flush with propane right now. Now, inventory levels in the country are up above 78 million barrels, which is about two-thirds higher than the five-year average for this time of year. And as you know, we're sort of coming out of the heating season, which is the peak demand period for domestic propane use. And so we're in a really, really good position with propane. Propane is a byproduct of crude oil process refining and natural gas processing. So we do retain a good bit of it here. We're actually producing record levels.
47:18We're almost at three million barrels a day now. And exports are hovering around two to two point two million barrels a day. So we have plenty of propane here in the United States. So the propane that you sell, is it typically, is it typically, it's more so used here in the United States, more so used for cooling, let's say, than it is for cooking. So a real cyclical nature to the business. Mostly for heating, right? Heating in the peak heating season. 55 million households rely on propane in some way for heating, home heating, hot water, cooking, clothes drying, so forth. So, yes, it's a large weather-driven component.
48:04Carol Massar:All right. So, yeah. So, when I, you know, I was thinking about your business. And, you know, Michael, you guys have been around for 30 years. You're at the New York Stock Exchange. You rang the bell yesterday. And so, you've seen a lot of different market cycles. How much does your business really change? Or is it just so, is it mostly closely tied to weather? Or does economic cycles also play into it? It's a bit of both. About 50 % of our business is residential, and most of that is heat-related demand. But even with that, obviously, economic factors do affect how the consumer thinks about their own budgets and where they spend their money.
48:46So, in challenging times, you can see some conservation kick in. But the other 50 % of our businesses is providing energy to commercials, commercial businesses, industrial uses, government uses, agricultural uses. And, you know, frankly, because of the resilience of propane and the portability and the reliability, we're starting to find even more respect and more uses for propane in areas that people probably didn't imagine a few years ago. So things like EV charging stations and even small-scale power generation for data centers. These are areas where the portability and the ability to stand up a propane storage and deliver to that storage wherever the demand is, is a real advantage that we have.
49:43So are you saying in some cases there are EV charging stations that are off the grid and instead powered by propane, or is that a backup power source? No, that's the prime power for some of those off-grid charging stations. There's a generator behind the scenes that's powered by propane. So interesting. I was having a conversation with someone in the newsroom earlier about EVs, and he was basically like, you're just using carbon from a different source when you're using EVs. Well, you've got to charge it.
50:10Carol Massar:You've got to charge those batteries, which is why you think about not a perfect solution. Hey, Mike, one thing I do wonder, as you say that there are new uses coming, and I find that interesting, small power for data centers. When we've talked about the power grab that's going on, a lot of it fueled by the data center growth that we are seeing. We've talked about higher energy costs overall. Does that ultimately lead to more people using propane or more businesses using propane? I'm just curious, because we've said all hands on deck when it comes to energy sources, whether it's nuclear, solar, wind, of course, carbon, like it's all going to be needed.
50:50Carol Massar:So I wonder what's where does propane fit in potentially? Yeah, we have the same philosophy. We are all about all the above energy sources to meet the increasing demands that are faced by everything power, whether it's data centers, whether it's the expansion of EV charging, EV penetration, electrification. All that is still going to need energy in some form. And propane has a real role to play. And it happens to be one of the cleanest sources of fossil-based energy because it's a byproduct of refining and processing. So you're going to have it whether bad carbons are taken out. Well, how careful do you have to be?
51:39Carol Massar:I was telling Tim, I sail and, you know, we use propane on a boat, but you have to have the tanks above decks in the cockpit. You don't want the propane. It's a heavy gas, if you will. And you don't want that going to the builds, right? because you can blow up your boat. So there are risks. So how do those, that's extreme, but that's bad. But we've been, you know, you never put the propane down below. Um, so I'm just wondering, does that limit how you guys can use it or no? Cause you have the tanks outside and you can kind of put it anywhere. Yeah. I mean, first of all, we don't like talk about things blowing up, but, uh, Hey, I don't either.
52:17Carol Massar:All I know is my husband, we're, we're pretty stern with anybody, like with the propane tanks. But actually, if you think about all the uses, and what's unfortunate is propane is not well understood. And it's really our job to do a better job of advocating for propane in so many versatile uses in so many settings. So it really is an energy source that a lot of people touch and are accustomed to utilizing. It is very safe. The scenario that you're talking about, the tanks, as long as nothing's leaking and they don't find an ignition source, then they're safe. Generally, we don't necessarily advocate for utilizing the tanks indoors.
53:07But the reality is the appliances that are running on propane are indoors as well. So safety is our highest priority.
53:17Carol Massar:No, totally get, totally get. There's nothing more that we take seriously than safety. It's why we like talking to you. It's an education on this part of the market. Mike Stavilla, he's president and CEO of Suburban Propane. This is the Bloomberg Business Week Daily Podcast. Available on Apple, Spotify, and anywhere else you get your podcasts. Listen live weekday afternoons from 2 to 5 p.m. Eastern on Bloomberg.com, the iHeartRadio app, TuneIn, and the Bloomberg Business app. You can also watch us live every weekday on YouTube and always on the Bloomberg Terminal.
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In another reversal, US President Donald Trump announced a unilateral, open-ended extension of the ceasefire in the Iran war. Now, there’s no peace, but no active war either. This may become the new normal: a fragile ceasefire without a formal deal, with tensions simmering, sporadic flare-ups, and oil near $100.
Indefinite Extension
The US and Iran were discussing returning to talks in Islamabad on the eve of the two-week ceasefire deadline. Trump warned he was unlikely to extend the truce and would resume bombing Iran if they failed to show. Tehran held its line: no talks while the US blockade remained.
That pointed to a return to hostilities unless someone blinked. Trump blinked first. The political cost of war was rising for the US, as was its economic toll. The prospects for a win were becoming more elusive by the day. Tehran’s goal remains the same: survival and imposing a global cost for the war. It can’t afford to blink, and it didn’t.
What does this mean for the war? There’s no deal so there’s no lasting peace. There’s no high-intensity war either. Instead, the war may be settling into a prolonged middle ground:
- No formal end to the hostilities between the US/Israel and Iran because the underlying differences remain unresolved. These include issues such as Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz, and Lebanon.
- Escalation, on the other hand, is costly. It draws the US deeper into a conflict it doesn’t want and more entrenched in a region it would prefer not to focus on. Tehran, weakened but also emboldened, will hold the Strait of Hormuz and the global economy hostage. And Arab Gulf states are likely to face renewed attacks.
Today's show features:
- Ray Takeyh, Senior Fellow for Middle East Studies at Council of Foreign Relations
- Seth Jones, President of Defense and Security Department at CSIS on Defense and Counterterrorism measures in Iran War
- Jay Hatfield, CEO and CIO at Infrastructure Capital Advisors
- Seth Fiegerman, Bloomberg AI Editor on SpaceX Has Deal for Right to Acquire Cursor for $60 Billion
- Michael Stivala, President & CEO at Suburban Propane
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
