IEA Chief: The World Faces the Biggest Energy Crisis Ever, and Oil Stocks Are Falling Fast

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told Al Jazeera in an interview (published on 20 Mehr 1405, October 12, 2026) that the world is facing the biggest energy crisis ever. According to Al Jazeera, the crisis has run for more than seven months and is driven by the US-Israel war on Iran, which has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the route for about 20 percent of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas. Birol said global oil stocks are declining fast.

He noted that G7 countries and IEA members have tapped their strategic emergency reserves, but the relief was short-lived and the global economy is still feeling the pain. The Russia-Ukraine war adds strain on the oil industry as both sides hit each other's energy facilities. Birol warned that if tensions in West Asia are not resolved there will be serious consequences for the world economy, and that challenging months lie ahead as winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere. He said it will take time for the energy sector to recover and that the industry will probably never be the same.

This is the assessment of the head of the leading energy agency, not a price forecast. For Iranian markets, its relevance is that supply pressure and Hormuz risk remain among the main drivers of swings in oil, currency and gold prices.