(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden sought to discourage Israel from attacking Iran’s oil fields, as the US looks to shape Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s response to a ballistic-missile barrage and keep the region from descending into all-out war. Biden, addressing reporters at the White House, acknowledged that Israel would respond in some fashion, as Netanyahu vowed to do soon after Iran fired about 200 missiles at Israeli targets on Tuesday. But he’s also sought to keep Netanyahu from going too far, saying Israel shouldn’t strike Iran’s nuclear facilities either.
“The Israelis have not concluded what they’re going to do in terms of a strike,” Biden said, adding that he didn’t know when a strike might come. “If I were in their shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields.” The comment was an acknowledgment that an Israeli attack on major oil infrastructure would be considered a significant escalation that would likely roil energy markets amid concerns supply might be choked off, especially to China.
Biden got a sense for just how sensitive the markets have become a day before, when oil jumped by 5% off comments in which he said the US was “discussing” possible Israeli strikes on energy facilities. Biden said he was consulting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government as it decides how to respond to Tuesday’s attack, which saw Iran launch some 200 ballistic missiles at targets across the country. Whil.
