The Iran war is driving energy prices up and hurting economies worldwide.
Qatar’s energy minister told the Financial Times regional exporters may have to shut down oil and gas production within days, that oil prices could nearly double from their current level, and the war might “bring down the economies of the world.”
The US, meanwhile, agreed a 30-day waiver allowing India — heavily dependent on oil from the Middle East — to buy Russian oil. China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand are also vulnerable to what has in effect been a closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The US itself has significantly depleted oil reserves following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and prices at the pump are rising.
