Economist Mohamed El-Erian: “The inflation genie is out of the bottle.” (Photo: Brad Trent / Redux / laif)
Interview Conducted by Michael Brächer and Martin Hesse
DER SPIEGEL: Mr. El-Erian, what will the war against Iran cost the world?
El-Erian: In the first two weeks, you could still argue that the disruptions were temporary and reversible. Then we started seeing damage to the energy infrastructure – pipelines, storage depots, refineries. The state company QatarEnergy alone has said that it has lost 17 percent of its export capacity for liquefied natural gas. The minute you see damage to energy infrastructure, you go from temporary disruptions to structural issues that trigger all sorts of economic and financial tipping points.
DER SPIEGEL: Such as?