TEHRAN- The outbreak of a third imposed war against Iran is not simply another regional conflict. According to new assessments, it has rapidly become a seismic shock to global energy markets, threatening to upend oil and gas supplies and inflict lasting damage on the world economy.

Attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, combined with escalating threats to the strategic Strait of Hormuz—through which nearly one-fifth of global petroleum passes—have exposed the extreme vulnerability of energy supply chains. Major powers are now scrambling to respond, but the damage is already unfolding.

As upstream production costs in oil and gas surge, the final price of everything from fuel to petrochemicals is set to rise sharply. Ordinary households worldwide will feel the pinch: higher heating bills, more expensive transportation, and costlier everyday goods. The report warns that ordinary people will end up paying the price for warmongering by nations that style themselves as defenders of democracy.

Beyond inflation, a prolonged conflict risks tipping the global economy into recession. The first warning signs would be mass unemployment across multiple countries and crushing economic pressure on working families—who would suffer both as consumers facing price hikes and as workers losing livelihoods in production sectors.

Global leaders must recognize that an attack on Iran is an attack on global economic stability. The cost of inaction, or further military escalation, is a price no nation can afford to pay.