World Politics

US and Iran are trying to find a 'new equilibrium,' CEO says

Key Points
  • The U.S.-Iran relationship is going to be "very precarious" as the two countries try to find a new balance, David Young, CEO of Oxford Analytica told CNBC.
  • I think the region as a whole is trying to find out what that new equilibrium is, that can provide a sense of security as well as economic opportunity, Young said.
Regime supporters protest against U.S. following a Friday prayer led by Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei after an eight-year-long break in Tehran, Iran on January 17, 2020.
Hamid Vakili | NurPhoto | Getty Images

The U.S.-Iran relationship is going to be "very precarious" as the two countries try to find a new balance that can provide a sense of security, the chief executive of an advisory firm said on Tuesday.

Tensions between the the U.S. and Iran escalated in early January after an American airstrike in Baghdad killed Iran's top military commander Qasem Soleimani. Tehran retaliated by attacking U.S. targets in Iraq, but both countries now appear to have backed away from further military actions.

"They're trying to find this new equilibrium, and that is going to be very precarious over the coming months," David Young, CEO of Oxford Analytica, told CNBC's "Capital Connection."

"If you look at a conventional conflict, nobody really wants that," Young said. "That is not a win for anyone."

"I'm not saying conflict is off the table, but there is this back and forth," he said. "Both countries and ... the region as a whole is trying to find out what that new equilibrium is, that can provide a sense of security as well as economic opportunity moving forward."