Senior Fellow Greg Priddy Discusses Iran War and Energy Markets on Scripps News

On Thursday, March 19, CFTNI Senior Fellow for the Middle East Greg Priddy spoke with Scripps News about the worsening global energy crisis fueled by the ongoing conflict with Iran. Priddy warned that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has removed approximately 15 million barrels of oil per day from the global market, with prices now surging to $118 per barrel. He cautioned that if the blockade persists for several months, global economies could face a severe recession as prices potentially climb toward $200 a barrel. “Prices would have to go to a level that would force economic activity worldwide to shrink,” Priddy noted, emphasizing that the current escalation has created a situation where “you just physically don’t have enough oil to keep the economy going.”

During the interview, Priddy also addressed the U.S. Treasury’s recent proposal to “un-sanction” Iranian oil currently at sea, characterizing Washington’s shifting strategy as “grasping for straws” in the face of an unforeseen escalation. He further described the conflict as a “lose-lose situation” for both Washington and Tehran. Priddy observed that the Iranian government has “overperformed expectations” because it perceives the current U.S. posture as a direct threat to its survival. “When people’s lives are on the line or you have an authoritarian government threatened with losing power, they’re going to pull out all the stops and fight any way they can,” he explained.