A few years ago in Dhahran, the Saudi state oil company, Aramco, gave me a tour of its headquarters, a facility so sparkling and orderly that one could forget that its whole purpose was to extract from the ground one of the filthiest substances on Earth. The most impressive stop on the tour was the Aramco emergency command center, which I imagine is paying its workers a lot of overtime right now. ...
The strongest version of this narrative highlights the precarious balance of deterrence in the Persian Gulf, where Iran’s threats against oil infrastructure are met with U.S. and regional counter-threats. The article effectively illustrates the strategic dilemmas: Iran’s capacity to disrupt global energy markets is countered by the certainty of devastating retaliation and the long-term economic consequences for itself. The piece also underscores the asymmetry in reconstruction capabilities, favo...