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

The International Energy Agency's head, Fatih Birol, welcomed the Iran-US agreement, calling for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened without conditions to restore global energy market trust.

International Energy Agency head Fatih ‌Birol on Thursday welcomed the interim agreement to end the Iran war and called for the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened without conditions. Birol said several countries were reassessing energy policies after the waterway's closure during the conflict ‌showed it could be shut again. The IEA will discuss new strategies with several countries as the crisis has ‌redrawn the global energy map, he said at an event in Istanbul, adding that "trust" is critical for markets, with prices having fallen since the deal. Birol later told Reuters that he welcomed Saudi Arabia's and the United Arab Emirates' efforts to build alternative oil and gas ⁠routes, ​bypassing the strait.

'THE VASE ⁠IS BROKEN' The U.S.-Iran agreement includes Tehran reopening the strait and Washington lifting its naval blockade of Iran, potentially ending the largest oil supply ⁠disruption in history. The strait must reopen "without conditions" so all parties "believe it is safe", Birol said. "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." The war, which began ⁠with ​U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28, blocked more than 14 million barrels per day of Middle East oil output, the IEA estimates. Speaking to Reuters, Birol said it would take time for oil and gas flows through ⁠the strait to return to pre-conflict levels.

"A significant chunk of it can flow quickly. But to go ⁠to the day before the ⁠war started, we need some time, especially in countries where you don't have the financial muscle and the access to required technologies," he said.