New Delhi, March 18 -- Federal Reserve officials, convening in a wartime setting that began less than three weeks ago, are expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday, but more significantly to outline in a new policy statement and projections how they feel President Donald Trump's decision to launch an open-ended conflict with Iran has recast the outlook for the U.S. economy, inflation and monetary policy.

There are no sure bets, and without a clear stopping point to the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign, economists say the domestic and global impacts hinge on how long the war continues, on the structure of whatever Iranian government emerges at the end of it, and whether oil prices rise further beyond $100 a barrel or recede soon t...