Global Leaders Struggle to Contain Soaring Oil and Gas Prices Amid Iran War Disruptions

Stopgap measures like tapping emergency reserves and lifting sanctions aren't enough to offset the loss of millions of barrels per day from the Persian Gulf.

Apr. 9, 2026 at 2:54am

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A composition of overlapping triangles and rectangles in shades of blue, red, and yellow, conceptually representing the volatility and disruption in global oil markets.Geometric abstraction illustrates the complex global forces driving a historic oil price crisis.NYC Today

Global leaders have been scrambling to contain the rising cost of oil and gasoline since the start of the Iran war, which took a record amount of oil off the market when tankers full of crude were stranded in the Persian Gulf and military strikes damaged refineries, pipelines and export terminals. While measures like releasing emergency oil reserves and lifting sanctions are helping, experts say they aren't adding up to enough oil to replace what's stranded, and the question is how long those stopgap efforts can be sustained.

Why it matters

The Iran war has taken a massive amount of oil off the global market, with an estimated 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and products no longer flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. This has sent oil prices soaring past $100 per barrel and gasoline prices in the U.S. averaging $4.14 per gallon. While global leaders are taking various steps to free up more oil, experts say the incremental increases from these measures aren't enough to offset the huge supply shortfall, raising concerns about how long the current price spike can be sustained.

The details

In addition to the loss of oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, some oil producing nations in the Middle East have halted oil production because they can't ship fuel out of the Gulf and their storage tanks are full. That's taken about 10 million barrels per day off the market. The IEA says the 'resumption of transit through the Strait of Hormuz is the single most important action to return to stable oil and gas flows and reduce the strains on markets and prices.' Measures like the U.S. tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, lifting sanctions on Russian and Iranian crude, and temporarily waiving the Jones Act are helping, but experts say they are 'incremental' and not enough to make up for the massive supply shortfall.

  • Before the war began, roughly 15 million barrels of crude oil and 5 million barrels of oil products passed daily through the Strait of Hormuz.
  • Since the start of the Iran war, that flow has been completely disrupted, taking about 20 million barrels per day off the global market.

The players

President Donald Trump

The U.S. president has taken various steps to try to ease the oil and gas price crunch, including tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and temporarily lifting sanctions on Russian and Iranian crude oil.

International Energy Agency

The IEA, a group of 32 member nations, has launched the largest release of emergency oil reserves in its history, totaling 400 million barrels, in an effort to calm the chaos in global oil markets.

Mark Barteau

A professor of chemical engineering and chemistry at Texas A&M University who says the various stopgap measures are 'incremental' and not enough to make up for the massive supply shortfall.

Jim Krane

An energy research fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute who says the 'main emergency response system' of spare oil capacity from Gulf nations is also 'bottled up' and unable to reach global markets.

Daniel Sternoff

A senior fellow at the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy who says lifting sanctions on Iranian oil doesn't add new supply, it just widens the pool of potential buyers, which in turn raises the price.

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What they’re saying

“You're talking about these different patches being at the level of maybe 1 to 2 million barrels a day each, and you've got to get to 20, so it's hard to see those actually adding up to the numbers that are needed. And then the question is, how long can you sustain those?”

— Mark Barteau, Professor of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Texas A&M University

“But all of that spare capacity is also bottled up inside the Persian Gulf right now and it can't get to market either. So the main emergency response system that we have is also blocked.”

— Jim Krane, Energy Research Fellow, Rice University's Baker Institute

“As soon as you are moving to waive sanctions on your adversary with whom you're fighting a military conflict, to do something in their benefit, it just shows you that you are running out of options to try to prevent a rise in the price of oil.”

— Daniel Sternoff, Senior Fellow, Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy

What’s next

Experts say the resumption of oil transit through the Strait of Hormuz is the single most important action that could help return global oil and gas flows to stability and reduce the current price strains. However, with the Iran war ongoing, it remains unclear when that crucial chokepoint could reopen.

The takeaway

The Iran war has created an unprecedented oil supply crisis, with an estimated 20 million barrels per day of crude and products no longer flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. While global leaders are taking various stopgap measures to free up more oil, the incremental increases from these efforts aren't enough to offset the massive shortfall, raising concerns about how long the current price spike can be sustained without a resolution to the conflict.