President Donald Trump and his associates are scared that the war in Iran is going to derail one of the president’s proudest and most frequently-touted accomplishments since retaking office: the hundreds of billions, or trillions, of dollars he has supposedly secured for the United States in foreign investments.
According to Politico, one former administration official privy to discussions said, “What has really freaked people out is that the Gulf Arabs have warned that they’re a couple weeks away from having to repatriate tens of billions of dollars in investments from the United States. When these guys do that, it is going to be immensely destabilizing and contradictory to the president’s investment goals.”
Trump has long claimed he has secured massive amounts of investment guarantees from foreign companies into the U.S. economy, and often touts a figure as high as $18 trillion — a figure economists have debunked as ridiculous. Nonetheless, he has secured some deals, and those could go away or be pared back if the fighting keeps on.
“Any pullback on investments from Middle Eastern governments will limit the amount of capital available to U.S.-based tech startups, investment firms and big businesses that have come to rely on the region’s sovereign wealth funds and government-backed investment vehicles as a key source of cash,” said the report. “But the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has largely choked off oil and gas revenue that support Gulf-based financial institutions that are a major source of global capital. And Iran’s attacks on critical infrastructure and flashy highrises have brought tourism to high-dollar destinations like Dubai and Doha to a standstill.”
The Strait of Hormuz standstill is also threatening to skyrocket the price of oil in the United States, and around the world. Trump has threatened Iran with strikes on their energy facilities if it does not stop threatening ship traffic in the Persian Gulf.
“The U.S. and Iran have exchanged demands on terms that might bring an end to the conflict and revive global supply chains,” said the report. “But Iran has rejected Trump’s claims that the war is winding down. Thousands of U.S. troops are being sent to the Middle East — which threatens further escalation — and Iran has continued to launch attacks on airports, energy infrastructure and other critical targets across the region.”
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