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David Smith: The Guardian Washington Bureau Chief says Iran has chosen a new Supreme Leader · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Let's go to the lightest on the war. David Smith,
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  Speaker 1: Washington Bureau Chief of The Guardian, joins me live. Good morning, David,
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  Speaker 1: good morning. So we're hearing more and more that Iran
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  Speaker 1: is going after Golf. The golf state Saudi Arabia in
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  Speaker 1: the last few minutes apparently said that he's been two dead,
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  Speaker 1: twelve wounded, and they are attacking. This is Iran attacking
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  Speaker 1: the diplomatic quarter in Riads. So what's the latest here,
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  Speaker 1: what are we what's going on?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a great question because in Iran seems to
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  Speaker 2: have been giving conflicting signals on that. There was a
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  Speaker 2: statement from the president yesterday suggesting that they would no
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  Speaker 2: longer go after countries in the Golf region, but it
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  Speaker 2: did seem to have a little bit of ambiguity that
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  Speaker 2: that would only be the case if the implication was
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  Speaker 2: those countries were no longer backing the US attack. And
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  Speaker 2: of course, you know, the US does have military bases
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  Speaker 2: in almost all of those countries, and so it would
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  Speaker 2: appear Iran is still attacking on that pret and it's
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  Speaker 2: a very high risk strategy for them. I mean, I
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  Speaker 2: think some of the view of some in Washington is
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  Speaker 2: that it's going to backfire. It just alienates the region,
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  Speaker 2: It makes those countries even more likely to collaborate with
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  Speaker 2: the US. You know, some of those critics would say
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  Speaker 2: Iran is just kind of lashing out here almost indiscriminately,
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  Speaker 2: and appears to be kind of no no let up
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  Speaker 2: in that happening. And it does obviously carry that risk
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  Speaker 2: of just a wider conflagration of this war really spreading
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  Speaker 2: in a dangerous way and airlines having to cancel flights
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  Speaker 2: and people desperate to get out and pressure on the
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  Speaker 2: US to provide the passage for them. It sort of
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  Speaker 2: feels like the war is escalating and widening rather than
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  Speaker 2: the opposite.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, and could they're in a perverse kind of way
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  Speaker 1: get it over with quicker. I know it's you know,
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  Speaker 1: there's obviously going to be casualties, is going to be
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  Speaker 1: bad things that come from that. But I think a
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  Speaker 1: lot of people, including in America as you'll know, as saying, well,
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  Speaker 1: we don't want this pushing prices up.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right, because clearly, oil in a simple word,
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  Speaker 2: is one of the key factors here, and we're already
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  Speaker 2: seeing the oil price go up because of the strait
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  Speaker 2: of her moves in Iran are being affected and these
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  Speaker 2: other countries as well, and that will increase global pressure.
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  Speaker 2: And already we're seeing here in the US petrol price
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  Speaker 2: is affected as a consequence, maybe not as dramatically as
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  Speaker 2: some fear, because the US itself has become a massive
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  Speaker 2: oil and gas producer, partly through fracking, to provide some
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  Speaker 2: insulation precisely for this kind of global turbulence. But even
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  Speaker 2: so it is a potential negative, especially for Donald Trump
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  Speaker 2: and Republicans politically going forward to the midterm elections in November.
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  Speaker 2: And so yes, I think there is something in that
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  Speaker 2: theory that, you know, the wider this war goes, the
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  Speaker 2: quicker it might be over because because of those pressures
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  Speaker 2: and because you know, Gulf countries have a motivation to
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  Speaker 2: join the battle against Iran.
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  Speaker 1: David, appreciate your analysis this morning. David Smith, Washington bureau
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  Speaker 1: chief for The Guardian. For more from Early Edition with
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: Ryan Bridge, listen live to News Talks.
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: It'd be from five am weekdays, or follow the podcast
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: on iHeartRadio.