Global coalition orders historic emergency oil release as gas prices become concern

After deliberating and assessing the global oil market situation in the face of conflicts in the Middle East resulting from the US attack on Iran, 32 different developed countries agreed to take an “unprecedented” decision to help address “oil market challenges.”

The International Energy Agency (IEA) held an emergency meeting at its Paris headquarters on Tuesday with energy representatives from the G7 cohort of countries, to “assess market conditions”, which IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said “have been significantly affected by the conflict in the Middle East”.

After Thursday’s meeting, the IEA’s 32 member countries unanimously agreed to collectively release the largest amount of emergency oil reserves they have ever had as a coalition, amounting to 400 million barrels.

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“The oil market challenges we face are of unprecedented scale, which is why I am very pleased that IEA member countries have responded with emergency collective action of unprecedented scale,” Birol said after the announcement of the release of emergency oil reserves.

“Oil markets are global, so the response to major disruptions must be global as well.”

Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, in Paris on March 10, 2026. (Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)

President Donald Trump touted the IEA deal during his speech in Kentucky Wednesday afternoon, saying the move “will significantly reduce oil prices.”

Before the breakup of war with Iranoil was trading at $60 to $70 a barrel, but prices climbed after the conflict began, with crude oil futures hitting $115 a barrel on Monday, the highest level since 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. However, some experts suggest the market is already recovering from initial fears that the Middle East conflict would have a major impact on oil prices.

“The market realized that maybe things weren’t so bad. The United States is having incredible military victories. President Trump is saying, ‘Hey, you know what, the war probably won’t last that long.’ And there are even signals that the world doesn’t need to just sit back and accept it,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group and FOX Business contributor.

IEA members hold emergency stocks of more than 1.2 billion barrels and an additional 600 million barrels from oil industry stocks. This coordinated release of an unprecedented quantity of oil will be the sixth in approximately half a century of history. Previous class actions took place in 1991, 2005, 2011 and twice in 2022.

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The previous record for largest collective action was the latest release of emergency oil stocks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Together, the two actions of March 2022 and April 2022 represented a release of 182.7 million barrels, according to the IEA.

House Republicans are pushing the United States to closely monitor international divestments from Russian oil giant Lukoil as the conflict in Iran drives up U.S. gas prices. Russia and Iran are close allies. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images; Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

President Trump has repeatedly said in remarks to the press this week that the war in Iran will soon be over, but he has not provided a specific timetable.

In his comments to the press on Wednesday, President Trump joked: “We don’t want to leave early, do we?” »

“We have to finish the job, right? Over the last 11 days, our military has virtually destroyed Iran,” Trump said. “It’s a difficult country.”

Iran’s ongoing retaliatory attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint for oil transportation, have led to questions about what impact they will have on prices at the pump.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum this week scoffed at claims that the Trump administration was caught off guard by the impact of Trump’s military actions on the oil market and responded to questions about the impact of the attacks on the Strait of Hormuz.

A screenshot of a maritime traffic terminal showing ships in the Strait of Hormuz, March 4, 2026. (Kpler/Maritime Traffic)

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“As you know better than anyone, this is a global market, so we might produce more, or other countries might produce more, but it all goes into one vat where we get the prices from,” said Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. “So if the Strait of Hormuz presents a challenge, how could you get around that challenge?”

In response, Burgum criticized Iran for “taking the entire world economically hostage by threatening to close the strait.”

“President Trump has made very clear the consequences if they try to do this,” he continued. “There are many options between us and our allies in the region, including our Arab friends in the region, to ensure that these straits remain open and energy continues to flow into the global economy.”

Eric Revell of Fox Business contributed to this report.