Turkey says world should prepare for energy crisis

ANKARA - Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said on Monday that the world should prepare for the energy price and supply crisis stemming from the Iran war to potentially last longer.

Speaking to broadcaster tvnet, Bayraktar added that Turkey did not have any supply issues at the moment, but that certain developments regarding the Strait of Hormuz and the withdrawal of the United Arab Emirates from OPEC last month added to the uncertainties. 

A primary driver of Bayraktar's concern is the persistent instability in the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway responsible for the transit of roughly 20% of the world’s liquid petroleum and a significant portion of global LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) exports.

With the Iranian "shadow banking" sector and maritime transit routes under heavy US sanctions—and Tehran’s retaliatory "toll" system on shipping—the flow of energy has become a weapon of war. Bayraktar emphasized that even if a ceasefire were reached tomorrow, the "trust deficit" in maritime safety and the damage to infrastructure would take years to repair.

While Ankara has sought to position itself as a critical energy bridge between the East and West, the prolonged war in its neighborhood threatens its domestic inflation targets and industrial output.