Dimon on Iran war: 'We've got to finish this thing and finish it right'

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Tuesday the U.S. needs to wrap up its military operation in Iran, pressing the Trump administration to “finish it right” amid negotiations.

“Now, I don’t know what the military knows. I don’t know what President Trump knows. I just think now we’ve got to finish this thing and finish it right,” Dimon said in an appearance on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends,” referring to the Middle East conflict.

Dimon added that the markets are currently “unpredictable” and will likely remain that way until the war ends. However, he noted that toppling the regime in Tehran and successfully completing Operation Epic Fury is far more important than the impact on the economy.

“We should all hope nothing goes wrong. We should all hope that these bad people are — you know, that we win this thing and clean up the straits, and that Iran is no longer a threat to everybody,” he told host Brian Kilmeade. 

“But, you know, the markets will be concerned until it’s over. But I think it’s very important,” Dimon continued. “It’s much more important that this be successfully completed than what the market does."

The JPMorgan Chase CEO echoed the Trump administration’s statements dubbing the rise in gas prices as minuscule compared with the threat of Iran and other terrorist proxies. 

“Our economy is so big and complex and integrated and doing well. It’s doing well for years. It’s prosperous. So, this isn’t going to have an immediate — it’s one effect,” he said. “So, I just don’t think it’s — and it’s too short, really, to affect the whole thing.”

“So, obviously, gas prices going up are going to hurt people a little bit. But they still have money to spend. They still have jobs,” the executive added.

The current national average for gas prices sits at $4.01, according to AAA. Some states are seeing prices as high as $5.88 due to Iran’s restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz, a channel that carries a fifth of the world’s oil transports per day. 

Trump said Sunday that Iranian leaders would allow 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels to pass through the strait as the U.S. and Islamic Republic trade potential ceasefire demands.

On Monday, the president urged Iranian leaders to swiftly open the Strait of Hormuz from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean or face resumed strikes on its energy infrastructure and desalination plants.