Daniel Yergin

Absolutely, because those Arab countries have established themselves as players in many different ways in the world economy.

providing essential sources.

Right now, there is an LNG project in the United States that is worried as to whether it can go forward because it depends upon steel from Abu Dhabi.

Who would have thought that?

I think in general, there was not that awareness on a global basis about how the world economy had changed.

And also, by the way, those countries export one other thing that's very important, and that's money.

They have among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world.

So they play a very important role in that regard as well.

So I don't think it was on the agenda.

It was necessary to envision that we'd be in the position that we're in today.

I thought Iran is not Venezuela.

Venezuela was remarkably successful.

You got one guy out and his wife, and it's a whole different game there now.

But Iran, you have an IRGC, which is not only a military force, but an ideological movement as well.

and that the whole basis of that government has been based on their chant of death to America, the animosity of the U.S., and that they, in a sense, for many years, the U.S.

has war-gamed what would happen in the Strait of Hormuz with Iran.

Iran clearly was war-gaming as well and built up very considerable missile capabilities and indeed, I think, was quite...

It was a shock when we realized that the Iranians could send a missile 2,500 miles, so that they have really built themselves as a resistant state.

And for them, this war is existential.

Well, I didn't think about it one way.