Weaponising Strait of Hormuz is 'economic terrorism': UAE minister warns of global fallout
Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Managing Director and Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) said on Monday that weaponising the Strait of Hormuz is an act of 'economic terrorism' while highlighting the global consequences that affect far beyond just the energy markets.
Al Jaber was speaking at the global energy conference CERAWeek taking place from March 23-27 in Texas, USA, when he underlined that when the Strait of Hormuz is threatened, the human cost is exponential and the effects reach factories, farms and families across the world. He said that " energy security is not just a slogan, it's the difference between lights on and lights off," stressing that the world's critical arteries must remain open and the Strait of Hormuz is one of those arteries.
“Twenty-one miles wide. Twenty million barrels a day. Nearly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas. Over a third of the world’s fertiliser. Almost a quarter of the world’s petrochemicals and significant amounts of industrial metals. In short, much of the oxygen of the global economy runs through a single throat. Yet, Iran believes that choking it is an acceptable strategy,” he said in a warning to the world after Iran closed the strait after a US-Israel attack.
The loss of the Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz is a 33km waterway located between Iran, Oman and UAE. It connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, making it a vital route for the global shipping network. As per the BBC, about 20% of the world's oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) passes through this strait. In 2025 alone, about 20 million barrels of oil passed through the waterway per day, according to estimates from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
As a result of the closure, oil, gas, fertiliser and other goods prices have jumped over the past three weeks. This has reduced the supply by around 10-12 million barrels per day.
“When Hormuz is squeezed, the pressure is immediately felt around the world. In just three weeks, the price of oil has risen by 50 per cent," said Al Jaber while adding that the closure is raising the cost of living for those who can least afford it and slowing economic growth everywhere.
“So let me be absolutely clear. Weaponising the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation. It is economic terrorism against every nation. And no country should be allowed to hold Hormuz hostage, not now, not ever."
He emphasised that the current crisis is not simply about supply. "This is not a supply issue. It is a security issue, and it has only one durable answer: keeping the Strait open. We cannot trade our way out of this crisis,” he said during the speech.
UAE will continue to defend itself
Al Jaber who is also the chairman of Masdar and executive chairman of XRG, stressed the UAE did not ask for the conflict, but remains prepared to defend itself. “But when the moment came, we were ready. Our defences have been tested. Our resilience has been tested. Our character has been tested. And we withstood,” he said.
“We will continue to defend our nation and our way of life. In fact, this experience has only reinforced our model of pragmatic progress, rooted in realism, not ideology, steady in its course, practical in its approach, and relentlessly focused on results,” he added.
He also highlighted the UAE’s deepening energy partnerships with the United States, noting that ADNOC, XRG, and Masdar have collectively invested over $85 billion in US energy assets, supporting power generation, advanced chemicals, and jobs across multiple states. “For the UAE, partnership is not just something we do. It is who we are. Our commitments are concrete. Our word is our currency. And when it really matters, we step up and show up.”
A call for collaboration
Inviting the energy leaders to attend ADIPEC, in Abu Dhabi in November, he said that one can choose to be an architect of stability or a spectator to volatility. "And if you believe that collaboration should prevail over conflict, then your place is with us. Stability does not happen on its own. It must be built deliberately and collectively."
He added that ADIPEC would serve not just as a conference, but as a working platform to strengthen the resilience of the global energy system.
Al Jaber was speaking at the global energy conference CERAWeek taking place from March 23-27 in Texas, USA, when he underlined that when the Strait of Hormuz is threatened, the human cost is exponential and the effects reach factories, farms and families across the world. He said that " energy security is not just a slogan, it's the difference between lights on and lights off," stressing that the world's critical arteries must remain open and the Strait of Hormuz is one of those arteries.
“Twenty-one miles wide. Twenty million barrels a day. Nearly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas. Over a third of the world’s fertiliser. Almost a quarter of the world’s petrochemicals and significant amounts of industrial metals. In short, much of the oxygen of the global economy runs through a single throat. Yet, Iran believes that choking it is an acceptable strategy,” he said in a warning to the world after Iran closed the strait after a US-Israel attack.
The loss of the Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz is a 33km waterway located between Iran, Oman and UAE. It connects the Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, making it a vital route for the global shipping network. As per the BBC, about 20% of the world's oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) passes through this strait. In 2025 alone, about 20 million barrels of oil passed through the waterway per day, according to estimates from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
As a result of the closure, oil, gas, fertiliser and other goods prices have jumped over the past three weeks. This has reduced the supply by around 10-12 million barrels per day.
“When Hormuz is squeezed, the pressure is immediately felt around the world. In just three weeks, the price of oil has risen by 50 per cent," said Al Jaber while adding that the closure is raising the cost of living for those who can least afford it and slowing economic growth everywhere.
“So let me be absolutely clear. Weaponising the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation. It is economic terrorism against every nation. And no country should be allowed to hold Hormuz hostage, not now, not ever."
He emphasised that the current crisis is not simply about supply. "This is not a supply issue. It is a security issue, and it has only one durable answer: keeping the Strait open. We cannot trade our way out of this crisis,” he said during the speech.
UAE will continue to defend itself
Al Jaber who is also the chairman of Masdar and executive chairman of XRG, stressed the UAE did not ask for the conflict, but remains prepared to defend itself. “But when the moment came, we were ready. Our defences have been tested. Our resilience has been tested. Our character has been tested. And we withstood,” he said.
“We will continue to defend our nation and our way of life. In fact, this experience has only reinforced our model of pragmatic progress, rooted in realism, not ideology, steady in its course, practical in its approach, and relentlessly focused on results,” he added.
He also highlighted the UAE’s deepening energy partnerships with the United States, noting that ADNOC, XRG, and Masdar have collectively invested over $85 billion in US energy assets, supporting power generation, advanced chemicals, and jobs across multiple states. “For the UAE, partnership is not just something we do. It is who we are. Our commitments are concrete. Our word is our currency. And when it really matters, we step up and show up.”
A call for collaboration
Inviting the energy leaders to attend ADIPEC, in Abu Dhabi in November, he said that one can choose to be an architect of stability or a spectator to volatility. "And if you believe that collaboration should prevail over conflict, then your place is with us. Stability does not happen on its own. It must be built deliberately and collectively."
He added that ADIPEC would serve not just as a conference, but as a working platform to strengthen the resilience of the global energy system.
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