ISTANBUL, August 21. /TASS/. International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol has described the situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz as a major energy crisis, likening it to a broken vase, adding that even if the vase were glued back together it could not be fully restored, just as reopening the strait would not return international energy markets to their previous state.

"The volume of oil and gas losses resulting from the disruption of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz following the war [of the US and Israel against Iran], which began in late February, exceeds the combined losses incurred during the oil crises of 1973 and 1979. <…> The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz has inflicted long-term damage on global energy markets, the vase is shattered, and it cannot be fully restored even if glued back together, and nothing will ever be the same again," he was quoted as saying by Turkey’s Ekonomi Manset portal.

The volume of transit through the Strait of Hormuz, which stood at around 25 mln barrels per day prior to February 2026, has now fallen to roughly 15 mln, and at times to 12-17 mln, Birol noted.

The three geopolitical factors that will shape the situation in energy markets in the foreseeable future are the conflict in Ukraine, tensions in the Middle East and around Iran, and the competition in artificial intelligence and technology between the US and China, he added.