Iran has warned that the world must prepare for the possibility of oil prices soaring to $200 a barrel if the conflict in the Middle East continues to escalate and the security of global energy routes is disrupted.
The warning comes as tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran are rising after almost two weeks of ongoing conflict in the region.
In the latest development, Iranian forces were reported to have attacked several merchant ships in the Gulf waters, raising concerns about disruptions to global oil supplies.
The incident occurred in a maritime route near the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important energy trade route that handles about 20% of global oil supplies.
Tensions in the area have sparked concerns that any major disruption to the route could cause a global energy supply shock.
As a measure to stabilize the market, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has proposed releasing around 400 million barrels of oil from the global strategic reserves, one of the largest interventions in the history of energy markets.
The United States also announced that the country would release about 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to help ease price pressures.
While the move was taken to stabilize the market, Iranian officials warned that the risk of a sharp increase in oil prices still existed if the conflict continued and regional security did not return to stability.
