Birds fly near a boat in the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, as seen from Musandam, Oman, March 2, 2026. (Amr Alfiky/Reuters)

Istanbul, Turkey – IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Thursday that global energy markets are at a “critical turning point,” after his agency on Wednesday recommended a coordinated release of global reserve oil in the face of the Iran war.

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz prompted the IEA’s announcement, he said at an Istanbul press conference.

The International Energy Agency, made up of major oil consuming nations, recommended releasing 400 million barrels from global strategic reserves to dampen one of the worst oil shocks since the 1970s, the biggest such intervention in history.

(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)