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Oil is now squarely at the heart of the Iran War. While Israel and the U.S. continue pounding Iran, Tehran has clearly made oil its weapon of choice. It has been striking more energy infrastructure across the region and has deployed mines in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively closed for 12 days now.

Explosive-laden Iranian boats appear to have attacked two fuel tankers in Iraqi waters, setting them ablaze and killing one crew member on Wednesday, raising the number of ships struck in the region since fighting began to at least 16. Tragically, it is fair to say the “tanker war” that marked the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s is back.

Iran said the world should be ready for oil to hit $200 a barrel. That may well be bluster – oil is still hovering around $100 - but things are getting increasingly tense in the Gulf with no end to the tumult in sight. President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that the U.S. had won the war, although he was not ready to call an end to the bombing.

With nearly 20 million barrels per day of crude oil and fuel trapped inside the Gulf, the situation is getting dire for consumers, particularly in Asia, where governments are rationing fuel, curbing exports and urging people to use stairs and work from home.

In response to the brutal supply disruption, the International Energy Agency members on Wednesday agreed to release a record 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles to combat the spike in global crude prices. The unprecedented move will, however, offer only limited relief as long as energy exports from the Middle East remain blocked.

Stepping back from the daily events, the Iran war will likely alter countries’ energy strategies moving forward. The current conflict and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago, have laid bare the economic risks of the world’s heavy dependence on oil and gas, undermining U.S. President Donald Trump’s flagship push to double down on fossil fuels. You can find more on this below.

The news flow is overwhelming, so here are a few headlines to help you make sense of things:

As always, don’t hesitate to contact me at ron.bousso@thomsonreuters.com or follow me on LinkedIn with any questions or thoughts.

The dramatic supply disruptions and price spikes unleashed by the latest Middle East conflict are likely to harden the resolve of many governments to accelerate the drive for greater energy self‑sufficiency – and that will include clean energy.

The latest crisis is a reminder that fossil fuels, like renewables, can be unreliable and volatile – and also that securing domestic sources of energy is critical.

This, in turn, is altering the debate about the global energy system’s two supposedly competing objectives: tackling ⁠climate change and ensuring access to cheap, reliable energy.

It turns out the latter may end up helping with the former.