Iran Energy Attacks To Hasten Global Recession (S01E27)

Wednesday, March 16, 2026, Istanbul The US and Israeli forces struck Iran’s main natural gas refinery at the South Pars on Wednesday in a major escalation of the war. Iran has vowed retalation against energy infrastructure in the Arabian Peninsula. It listed a number of sites it intends to target, and by late evening local time, had struck the Ras Laffen facility in Qatar, which produces a quarter of the world’s exported natural gas. Oil and gas prices are spiking and the many analysts fear a major worldwide recession.I spoke today with Umud Shokri, an energy strategist and senior foreign policy advisor with decades of expereience analyzing global energy markets, He currently serves as a senior visiting fellow at George Mason University. We spoke about the signficance of the South Pars field, and what if any impact taking it offline will have on the Iranian and world economy. We also discussed the potential impact of US attacks on Khark Island, Iran’s main oil terminal, as well as the Strait of Hormuz. What would happen if the Americans seized control of the chokepoint? Would that be any enough to get oil flowing out of the Gulf. We spoke about worst-case and best-case scenarios for getting oil flowing and how quickly the world economy could recover. badlands is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit borzou.substack.com/subscribe