IEA's Birol says Strait of Hormuz must reopen without conditions

Published June 18, 2026 Updated June 18, 2026 02:45pm

International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol has welcomed the interim agreement to end the Iran war and called for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened without conditions, Reuters reports.

Birol said several countries were reviewing their energy policies as it was clear that the waterway could potentially be shut again, given Iran had closed it during the war.

The IEA will discuss new strategies with several countries as the crisis has redrawn the global energy map, Birol said at an event in Istanbul, adding that “trust” is critical in global energy markets, where prices have fallen since the peace deal.

The strait must be reopened “without conditions” so that all parties “believe it is safe”, Birol said, adding: “We will now see the details of the agreement and the negotiation process, and what happens next”.

“The vase is broken,” he said. “Now all actors know that the Strait of Hormuz was closed once and it can be shut down again.”

Opinion

Editorial

Words that wound
Updated 18 Jun, 2026

Words that wound

Hate speech rarely begins with physical attacks.
‘New urban province’
18 Jun, 2026

‘New urban province’

CONSIDERING the advance state of urban decay that affects Karachi, voices are often raised calling for the megacity,...
Punjab budget: mixed bag
18 Jun, 2026

Punjab budget: mixed bag

PUNJAB’S budget for FY27 is a mix of good and bad political choices, with a cash-strapped centre tightening the...
Spoiler alert
17 Jun, 2026

Spoiler alert

AFTER the temporary peace deal between the US and Iran is physically signed in Geneva on Friday, an arduous process...
Storm-tested cities
17 Jun, 2026

Storm-tested cities

THE deaths caused by the latest spell of monsoon rains in KP and Punjab illustrate how quickly severe weather can...
Chakwal tragedy
17 Jun, 2026

Chakwal tragedy

A NINE-year-old girl is dead because a Punjab Crime Control Department gunman mistook her family’s car for a...