IEA's Birol says Strait of Hormuz must reopen without conditions

International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol on Thursday welcomed the interim agreement to end the Iran war and called for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened without conditions.

Birol said several countries were reviewing their energy policies as it was clear that the waterway could potentially be shut again, given Iran had closed it during the war.

The IEA will discuss new strategies with several countries as the crisis has redrawn the global energy map, Birol said at an event in Istanbul, adding that "trust" is critical in global energy markets, where prices have fallen since the peace deal.

The agreement includes Tehran reopening the strait and the U.S. lifting its naval blockade of Iran, potentially bringing an end to the largest oil supply disruption in history.

The strait must be reopened "without conditions" so that all parties "believe it is safe", Birol said, adding: "We will now see the details of the agreement and the negotiation process, and what happens next".

"The vase is broken," he said. "Now all actors know that the Strait of Hormuz was closed once and it can be shut down again."

The Iran war, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on the country on February 28, is estimated to have blocked more than 14 million barrels per day (bpd) of Middle East oil output, according to the IEA.

Reuters

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