The US-Israeli war with Iran is creating the worst energy crisis ever faced by the world, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Fatih Birol, said on Tuesday.

“This is indeed the biggest crisis in history,” Birol told France Inter radio in an interview broadcast.

“The crisis is already huge, if you combine the effects of the petrol crisis and the gas crisis with Russia,” he added.

The war has choked up maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which is a conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows.

Birol had said earlier this month that he viewed the current situation in global energy markets as worse than previous crises in 1973, 1979 and 2022 combined.

In March, the 32-member IEA agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles — the largest-ever coordinated release — to combat rising oil prices caused by the war.