Iran Tightens Control over Middle Eastern Oil: "Black Gold" Price War Escalates
An oil tanker damaged near an Iraqi port after an Iranian attack. Photo.
The confrontation between Iran and the West over oil prices continues to escalate, directly affecting the duration of U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran. The International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that member countries have agreed to release 400 million barrels of strategic oil reserves. In response, Iran launched a new round of attacks on oil facilities in the Middle East, pushing international oil prices close to $100 per barrel.
Within the past 24 hours, Iran used missiles and drones to attack oil storage facilities in Oman, oil fields in Iraq, and two oil tankers at an Iraqi port. Additionally, Tehran attempted to attack the Saudi "Shabah" oil field with drones, but the drones were successfully shot down.
"The Iraqi Ministry of Oil is deeply concerned about recent events in the Persian Gulf region, especially incidents involving oil transport ships in maritime routes. Baghdad believes these events are a dangerous signal of escalating tensions in key areas of the global economy and energy supply."
Said the Iraqi Ministry of Oil in a statement.
According to Al Jazeera, Iraq has suspended all oil loading operations at its main port, Basra.
The background of this escalation in Iranian attacks is that the IEA previously announced that member countries had agreed to release 400 million barrels of strategic oil reserves, aiming to curb rising oil prices caused by the Iranian crisis and shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
"In one night, Iran responded to the IEA's oil-related statements by intensifying attacks on regional energy facilities, including two small fuel tankers in Iraq. Tehran understands that it is precisely oil as a weapon that could force President Trump to end the war earlier."
Wrote Bloomberg observer Javier Blas on social media platform X.
Although Iran's attacks did not cause a sharp rise in oil prices, prices continued to climb today. As of noon, prices had risen to $98 per barrel.
"The war in the Middle East has caused the most severe supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. With crude oil and petroleum product exports through the Strait of Hormuz dropping from 20 million barrels per day before the conflict to zero, the total oil production of Persian Gulf countries has decreased by at least 10 million barrels per day. If shipping cannot be restored quickly, the losses will continue to expand."
The IEA stated in its latest report.
The agency predicts that global oil supply will decrease by 8 million barrels per day in March, although the supply gap in the Middle East will be partially offset by increased production from countries such as Kazakhstan and Russia.
"Although the scale of the loss depends on the duration of the conflict and the extent of shipping disruptions, we expect global oil supply to increase by an average of 1.1 million barrels per day in 2026, and all growth will come from non-OPEC+ oil-producing countries," said the IEA.
The report also pointed out that this conflict has had a significant impact on the global oil products market — in 2025, oil-producing countries in the Persian Gulf exported 3.3 million barrels of fuel per day and 1.5 million barrels of liquefied natural gas per day.
"The oil refining facilities in the region, which have a daily processing capacity of more than 3 million barrels, have all been shut down," added the IEA.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7616304781585416723/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.