Qatar Says Worst of Iran War's Economic Toll Is Yet to Come
Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, speaking before a panel at the International Monetary Fund's Spring Meetings in Washington, told attendees that surging energy prices represented only "the tip of the iceberg."
"The full-fledged impact is coming in one or two months," he said. "You'll see a huge economic impact as a result of this war."
Al Kuwari cautioned that sustained disruption to the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint critical to global energy flows — would place severe strain on nations reliant on imported commodities, particularly natural gas, fertilizers, and helium.
He also flagged the March strike on Qatar's Ras Laffan liquefied natural gas facility as a compounding threat to worldwide energy stability. The installation, responsible for roughly one-fifth of all global LNG exports, was struck as hostilities escalated in the wake of US airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28 — setting off a worldwide gas supply crunch. Full restoration of the facility's output, Al Kuwari noted, could require up to five years.
On helium, he issued a pointed warning: Qatar accounts for approximately 30% of global supply, a resource indispensable to industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, making any prolonged export disruption particularly consequential.
Al Kuwari further cautioned that the energy price shock risked cascading into broader supply shortages, with some nations struggling to secure adequate fuel, while fertilizer bottlenecks could, in turn, heighten the threat of a food crisis.
The minister's remarks come as the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, continuing to strangle one of the planet's most strategically vital energy corridors and deepening fears of sustained supply shocks spanning fuel, industrial gases, and agricultural inputs.
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