Iran war threatens energy crisis worse than 1970s two oil shocks
The boss of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, spoke out as the war grinds into its fourth week
The world faces an energy crisis worse than both 1970s oil shocks combined if the Middle East war drags on, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) warned on Monday, as Israel launched fresh strikes on Tehran and threatened weeks more fighting.
In a stark warning over what lies ahead unless the fighting ends soon, Fatih Birol said the world was losing more oil each day than the combined impact of the two 1970s oil shocks and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“This crisis as things stand is now two oil crises and one gas crash put all together,” Birol said.
“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction.”
Earlier, with the war grinding into its fourth week, US President Donald Trump threatened to “obliterate” Iranian power plants if Iran failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, setting an effective deadline of 23:44 GMT on Monday.
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Trump tells Iran to reopen Strait of Hormuz by late Monday GMT or face major assault
Tehran has retaliated against US-Israeli assaults by throttling traffic in the vital waterway, conduit for a fifth of global crude oil, hitting energy sites and US embassies across the Gulf and firing missiles and drones at Israel.