NEW YORK, March 15. /TASS/. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East and problems with fuel supplies will do no serious harm to the US economy, even if they last for a long time, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council at the White House, said.

"If it did last for a long time, it wouldn't really do a lot of harm to the US economy," he told Fox News when asked whether the disruption of fuel shipments via the Strait of Hormuz could trigger an economic recession in the United States.

He acknowledged however that the US administration will have to find solutions to a range of economic problems stemming from the Middle East conflict.

The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack.