An attack on Iran means price of oil above $250 a barrel

A Thomson Reuters' report

An attack on Iran will bring oil price to above $250 a barrel according to a report published by an Israeli financial firm.

A leading Israeli investment firm said on Thursday any military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities would exact an economic price too high for the world to accept, and as a result, it would likely acquiesce to a nuclear Iran.

A sharp rise in the price of oil, the costs of war and the damage to global trade would be too great and deter world powers from taking any serious action, said Amir Kahanovich, chief economist at Clal Finance, one of Israel's largest brokerage houses.

The assessment differed sharply from Israel's official position that Tehran's nuclear aspirations are unacceptable and that all options are on the table in preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, which it views as a threat to its existence.

In a report "The Iranian Issue through Economic Eyes," Kahanovich laid out courses of action -- ranging from additional "light sanctions" to military strikes -- and told investors the world would likely balk at taking the steps needed to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Even for Israel the economic cost of a military confrontation that could include retaliatory missile attacks by Tehran and proxies in Gaza and Lebanon would be too high, Kahanovich wrote.

"Unfortunately, it appears that a nuclear Iran is the most reasonable scenario," he added.

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