International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol speaks at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, Monday, March 23, 2026. (Lukas Coch/AAP Image via AP)
2026-03-23T06:15:13Z
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The head of the International Energy Agency said Monday that the global economy faces a “major, major threat” because of the Iran war.
“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction,” Fatih Birol told Australia’s National Press Club in Canberra on Monday.
He said the crisis in the Middle East has had a worse combined impact than the two oil shocks of the 1970s and the effect on gas markets of the Russia-Ukraine war.
His comments came as Israel launched a new wave of attacks early Monday against Tehran.
A top American commander also told Iranians to remain in shelters for the foreseeable future, while Iran renewed strikes on its Gulf neighbors and threatened to start hitting their power plants.
Birol said 40 energy assets in nine countries across the region were “severely or very severely damaged.”
The official added that he was consulting with governments in Europe and Asia about the prospect of releasing further stockpiled oil.
“We will see, we will look at the markets,” he said. “If it is necessary of course we will do it, but we will look at the conditions, we will analyze, assess the market and discuss with our member countries.”
As Iran continues its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. President Donald Trump gave a 48 hour deadline for Tehran to open the strategic waterway to all ships, saying that otherwise the United States would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants. Trump posted the threat to social media early Sunday in Middle East time zones.
CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-MCLAY Graham-McLay is an Associated Press reporter covering regional and national stories about New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands by putting them in a global context. She is based in Wellington. twitter mailto
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