World facing ‘biggest ever energy crisis’ due to Iran war, says head…

The world is facing its “biggest ever” energy disaster, according to a new weblog by the World Economic Forum.

Dr. Fatih Birol, the current head of the International Energy Agency, was quoted as making the worrying remarks relating to the battle in the Middle East.

Speaking in Paris, Birol announced that oil and gasoline markets had been facing “big difficulties” as costs surged to over $120, placing further stress on international locations around the globe. Birol said that as Brent crude price surged to a four-year high last month, the world might soon face a “major financial and energy problem.”

It is well known that a fifth of the world’s crude oil and gas is located in the Strait of Hormuz, which has become a hotbed of unrest as the conflict between the U.S. and Iran unravels. The strait also serves as a vital passage that connects the Gulf with the Arabian Sea.

“The oil ​markets and gasoline markets ​are going through big difficulties,” Birol said during the conference. “When I appeared last time, ​the oil price ​was over $120, which is placing ‌a ⁠lot of stress on many international locations.”

“Our ​world ⁠is facing a major financial ​and energy problem,” he added. The comments come as gas prices in the U.S. have hit $5 a gallon, prompting the president to declare a national emergency over gas in response to the global oil markets.

Last month, Trump announced that expanding domestic petroleum production, refining, and logistics capacity had become a national necessity. Global oil markets have been severely rattled since joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeted multiple key Iranian facilities beginning on February 28.

Iran responded by launching strikes across the Middle East and shutting down the vital Strait of Hormuz trade route, through which approximately 20% of global oil trade passes. The U.S. has since enforced a blockade on Iranian ports within the strait, even amid a short-term ceasefire.

Back in January, Trump had already laid the groundwork for such action by signing an executive order declaring a National Energy Emergency, which identified the nation’s insufficient energy production, transportation, refining, and generation capacity as an unusual and extraordinary threat to the country’s economy, national security, and foreign policy. The order stressed that the U.S.’s “current insufficient and intermittent energy provide leaves us weak to hostile overseas actors and poses an imminent and growing menace to the United States’ prosperity and national security.”

In the order, Trump stated: “I’ve declared a national emergency… and I additional decide that motion to broaden the home petroleum manufacturing, refining, and logistics capability is important to avert an industrial useful resource or crucial technology merchandise shortfall that would severely impair national protection functionality.”

The latest gasoline costs average $4.022, according to AAA. Separately, U.S. and Iranian negotiators are set to convene in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Wednesday, as both nations search to broker a lasting peace settlement.