Iran War Triggers a Global Energy Crunch and Economic Ripples

The Iran conflict is disrupting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, tightening energy supplies and lifting oil and gas prices, prompting countries to ration energy and curb demand with measures ranging from Bangladesh closing universities to South Korea capping gas prices, Thailand encouraging remote work, and the Philippines and Pakistan adopting shorter workweeks. Asia faces the sharpest impact, with Europe and Japan watching and weighing price controls, while China could gain long‑term from higher prices and a shift toward coal and renewables as the global economy absorbs this new shock in the 2020s.