Oil prices rose than $6 per barrel (5.47 euros) this week and prices at the pump moved higher as well. The average price for a gallon of gas rose 5 cents from last week. Any major escalation of tensions in the Middle East conjures up memories of the oil embargo that followed the start of the Yom Kippur war in 1973, which quadrupled oil prices.

A sustained fully-fledged assault and push by Israel’s military into Lebanon would be highly unlikely to be met with direct official opposition on the ground from Iran or from sustained direct attacks by it on Israel.