US EditionMore than 40 Middle East energy assets ‘severely damaged,’ IEA chief says
IEA warns damage to 40+ energy assets in nine countries has cut 11 million barrels daily, surpassing 1970s shocks and risking prolonged global inflation and supply disruption.
- Fatih Birol told the National Press Club that the world could face its worst energy crisis in decades, calling the situation 'very severe' on Monday, March 23, 2026.
- At least 40 energy assets have been severely damaged across nine countries, Birol said, following Israel's strikes and Iran's Strait of Hormuz blockade disrupting energy flows.
- IEA is consulting governments in Asia and Europe on releases after IEA member nations agreed on March 11 to release a record 400 million barrels from strategic reserves.
- Global economies face heightened risk, Birol warned, saying 'No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction,' and the global economy faces a 'major, major threat'.
- Birol noted the crisis exceeds past oil and gas shocks, saying it is worse than the 1970s oil shocks and Russia-Ukraine war impact, and called opening the Strait of Hormuz the 'single most important solution to this problem'.
119 Articles
119 Articles
The IEA Executive Director noted that the current crisis amounts to "two oil crises and a gas collapse together," and warned of the severe damage to at least 40 infrastructures Europe is preparing for the "serious" effects of a long-anticipated war The Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, warned this Monday that the current situation is "very serious" and overcomes the energy crises of the 1970s, in a context…
Daily Journal
Mideast war threatens energy crisis worse than 1970s oil shocks
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 warned Monday, as Israel launched fresh strikes on Tehran and threatened weeks more…
The director of the International Energy Agency IEA, Birol, has warned of the massive consequences of the Iran war for the world economy.
At least 40 energy infrastructures were "hardly or very seriously" damaged, says the AIE director, stressing that until now they lost 11 million barrels per day.
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