The U.S. war with Iran and the rapid roll-out of artificial intelligence technologies have again clouded the outlook for the Federal Reserve, and make it appropriate to keep interest rates on hold for now, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said on Friday. Even though uncertainty around tariffs, immigration and other policy shifts had begun to lift, "I can't stand here ... and tell you the fog has lifted. If anything, it's deepened and spread," Barkin said in comments prepared for delivery at an economic forum at East Tennessee State University, with the Iran war delivering an oil price shock and AI providing large levels of investment but also promising to reshape labor markets and productivity trends. The Fed left interest rates unchanged at its meeting last week and "it felt prudent to hold rates and await more clarity on how we should be leaning to best support the economy going forward. I, for one, am hoping to see some of this fog burn off," Barkin said.