“Choking” Strait of Hormuz is “economic terrorism” against the world, says UAE energy CEO

2026-03-24 - 13:11

The effective closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz by Iran is “economic terrorism against every nation,” the head of a state-owned energy giant in the United Arab Emirates has said. “Much of the oxygen of the global economy runs through a single throat. And yet there are those who believe that choking that throat is an acceptable strategy,” said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of ADNOC (the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), referring to the waterway that is ordinarily the conduit for around a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply. He avoided naming Iran, however. “When Hormuz is squeezed, the pressure is immediately felt around the world,” Al Jaber said Monday at the CERAWeek energy conference in Texas, noting a sharp rise in the price of oil since the start of the Iran war on February 28. Brent crude, the global benchmark, has jumped by nearly 40 percent in that time. “This is raising the cost of living for those who can least afford it and slowing economic growth everywhere. From factories to farms to families around the world, the human cost is mounting by the day,” said Al Jaber, who is also the UAE minister of industry and advanced technology. “So let me be absolutely clear: Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation. It’s economic terrorism against every nation. And no country should be allowed to hold Hormuz hostage. Not now. Not ever.”