6 March 2026 10:46 GMT
Updated: 08:30 ETQatar has warned that the US-Israeli war on Iran could “bring down” the world’s economies.
The Qatari energy minister said the Israeli-US attacks in the region and Iran’s retaliation could shut down all Gulf energy exporters within days and drive oil to $150 a barrel.
“This will bring down the economies of the world,” Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times.
“If this war continues for a few weeks, GDP growth around the world will be impacted. Everybody’s energy price is going to go higher. There will be shortages of some products and there will be a chain reaction of factories that cannot supply.”
Iranian strikes have already prompted Saudi Arabia and Qatar to halt production at major oil and gas facilities.
Where I kinda agree that this will be bad for the world economy because of oil, I think he’s overestimating the current world dependence on oil. Alternatives are viable and are already increasingly being turned to. Even with the dumbshit policies of the trump admin, oil alternatives have saturated the market enough that oil isn’t able to compete anymore in some sectors, despite all the insane subsidies. While the elasticity of oil demand has been fading quietly for a few years now, I think quite a few people will be shocked by how much oil dominance has been eroded if/when oil prices skyrocket. All the more reason to push harder in the development of alternatives in every sector. I think this is another case of another oil rich boi openly living in cognitive dissonance as if the liquid gold will keep raking it in forever.