WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – The head of the International Energy Agency said Monday that the global economy faces a “big, big threat” from the Iran war.
“If we continue in this direction, no country will be immune to the effects of this crisis,” Fatih Birol told the Australian National Press Club in Canberra on Monday.
He said the Middle East crisis has had a worse impact on oil than the two oil shocks of the 1970s combined, and a worse impact on gas than the Russia-Ukraine war.
Israel launched a new offensive against Tehran early Monday. president of the united states donald trump The US also warns that “Destroy” Iran’s power plant If Tehran doesn’t open up completely, Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. In response, Iran said it would respond to such attacks with attacks on U.S. and Israeli energy infrastructure assets.
President Trump faces increasing pressure domestically to secure the strait. Crude oil prices soar.
One of the big concerns is that wars can destroy people. oil and gas production Prices will continue to rise in the Middle East for a long time, and inflation may rise around the world. The U.S. stock market has a history of recovering relatively quickly from past conflicts in places like the Middle East, as long as oil prices don’t stay high for too long.
Iran resumed its attacks on the Gulf state on Monday, threatening to launch attacks on power plants.
“The situation is very tough,” Birol said in Australia.
He said the 1973 and 1979 oil crises combined lost 10 million barrels a day and “caused major economic problems, recessions all over the world. And as of today alone, 11 million barrels a day were lost, more than two major oil shocks combined.”
He said that after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European gas market in particular “lost about 75 billion cubic meters, or 75 BCM. And at the moment, as a result of this crisis, it has lost about twice (of) about 140 BCM.”
Mr Birol said 40 energy assets in nine countries in the region had been “severely or very seriously damaged”.
“All trade in some of the key arteries of the world economy, such as petrochemicals, sulfur, helium and other fertilizers, has been suspended, which will have a severe impact on the world economy,” he said.
He said that while the International Energy Agency released 400 million barrels of oil earlier “to reassure the market,” “this is historic. Never before has such a large amount of oil been released into the market. …The single most important solution to this problem, as it stands, is to open the Strait of Hormuz.”
The official added that the company is in talks with governments in Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East about the possibility of releasing further oil reserves.
“We will look at the market and make a decision,” he said. “If necessary, of course we will do that, but we will look at the situation, analyze it, assess the market and consult with member states.”
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Associated Press writer Foster Krug contributed to this report from Tokyo.
