ATLANTA — A leading Georgia economist says the conflict involving Iran is expected to create only short-term friction for the state’s economy.

Dr. Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University, addressed the potential impact of the conflict in the Middle East as he released his first economic forecast of the year.

Dhawan says the situation in the region has led to higher oil prices, which are showing up at the gas pump.

“High oil prices, which leads to high gas prices, are only a problem if they remain high for quite a while,” Dhawan said.

He says the spike in oil prices is connected to disruptions involving shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

“In terms of like an impact on shipping and all of that, it seems like things might start turning back towards some kind of normalcy in a week or so, or maybe two weeks,” Dhawan said.

Dhawan says similar increases in oil and gas prices occurred last summer when tensions rose in the region.

“Oil prices jumped up $10-15; they stayed up a couple of weeks and then came down, and nobody really remembers what happened to the gas prices,” Dhawan said.

While the current conflict may cause short-term challenges, Dhawan says a prolonged conflict could affect manufacturing in other parts of the world.

“Which are basically producing all of the stuff that you buy in the stores over here,” Dhawan said.

Dhawan says those impacts would likely be felt more directly in Asia and Europe before affecting the United States.

His latest forecast also calls for slower economic growth in Georgia, though he expects job growth to continue in some sectors, including manufacturing, aerospace and logistics.

WSB Radio’s Jennifer Perry contributed to this story.