The war is costing countries in the Persian Gulf more than $50 billion

Between February 27 and March 30, oil exports from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain fell by 36.4 percent, to 7.833 million barrels per day, according to an analysis of the impact of restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz on regional countries.

Before the conflict, these countries exported 12.3 million barrels per day, TESPAM noted.

Since the start of the war, the region’s countries have lost $15.3 billion in oil revenue due to reduced exports, Anadolu reported based on TESPAM’s analysis.

When disruptions in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, maritime transport, damage to energy infrastructure, and issues in other sectors are included, total losses for Persian Gulf countries exceed $50 billion, according to the Turkish research center’s analysis.

Beyond energy markets, the conflict has also slowed the regional economy, affecting production, infrastructure, logistics, trade routes, the financial sector, and tourism, Anadolu noted.

“The biggest losers in this crisis are the Persian Gulf exporters, Asian importers of oil and LNG, tanker operators, and countries dependent on trade through the Strait of Hormuz,” TESPAM head Oğuzhan Akyener told Anadolu, referring to the energy victims of the conflict.

At the same time, oil from Central Asia, gas from the Eastern Mediterranean, African oil production, and U.S. LNG are gaining in significance, Akyener emphasized.

“In other words, the global energy system is increasingly splitting and becoming multipolar,” he concluded, warning of a new energy order.

Following U.S.-Israeli attacks, Iran has taken control of the Strait of Hormuz and prohibited transit for ships linked to the United States, Israel, and their allies, further increasing geopolitical tension.

Iranian authorities, however, claim the strait is not completely closed, emphasizing that “friendly” countries’ vessels can pass with coordination from the Iranian navy, indicating selective transit.

“Countries we consider friendly are allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz — China, Russia, India, Iraq, and Pakistan,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said last week, according to Tasnim Agency.

Iraq, Iran’s neighbor in the Persian Gulf, exported 3.4 million barrels of oil per day before the war, with oil revenues accounting for as much as 90 percent of the national budget.