JP Morgan-Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has expressed unexpected support for the US and Israel's military campaign against Iran, acknowledging short-term risks but arguing that Tehran has posed a significant threat for decades.
In an interview with Axios, Dimon said, 'Why the Western world put up with these proxy wars for 45 years is kind of beyond me.' He rejected claims that the strikes were conducted without an imminent threat, stating that Iran has 'killed a lot of Americans' and funded groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.
Dimon admitted uncertainty about whether the war could push the US into a recession, calling it 'a couple straws on that camel's back.' However, he emphasised that 'what's more important to the future of the world is that the war is successfully concluded.'
On the Strait of Hormuz, Dimon said he didn't know if it needed to be reopened but warned that its closure would be 'a real problem for the global economy.' The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump was considering ending the campaign without breaking the blockade, through which 20% of the world's oil and gas flows.
Dimon's hawkish stance marks a shift from his typically liberal foreign policy views. He previously warned of 'the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades' after the Gaza conflict began, and in his 2024 shareholder letter urged Western nations to work together in the name of democracy.
