Energy Security Regime at Risk as U.S.-Iran Conflict Disrupts Oil Flows

The global energy security system is facing a new test after the U.S.-Iran conflict disrupted oil flows and challenged many of the assumptions underpinning the system established after the 1973 oil embargo.

The crisis has exposed the vulnerability of one of the world's most important energy chokepoints, the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil flows typically pass.

Experts are now asking whether a new energy security regime will emerge from this crisis, built around resilient supply chains, alternative transport routes, and geopolitical cooperation.

The current disruption is not primarily driven by a shortage of oil production capacity but by constraints on transportation and logistics. The Iranian blockade and military tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz have exposed the limitations of the existing energy security framework.