The IEA said the release had been backed unanimously by 32 member countries, the sixth such move it has made since its creation in the 1970s. It is aimed at preventing a further rise in oil prices on fears that Iranian attacks will continue to block Middle East oil exports from reaching markets.
"The oil market challenges we are facing are unprecedented in scale, therefore, I am very glad that IEA member countries have responded with an emergency collective action of unprecedented size," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
The Paris-based IEA made its comments as French President Emmanuel Macron chaired a meeting of G7 leaders to discuss the issue.
"The emergency stocks will be made available to the market over a timeframe that is appropriate to the national circumstances of each member country," the IEA said, adding this would be "supplemented by additional emergency measures by some countries".
US President Donald Trump, who launched attacks on Iran alongside Israel on February 28, was shown at the end of a video of the G7 meeting chaired by Macron saying, "I think we are having a tremendous impact on the world."
Oil prices gained nearly 4% on Wednesday as further attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz worsened supply-disruption fears, and analysts said the release of reserves was inadequate to ease those concerns.
"I'm not surprised that the market is reacting like this, given that the announcement was priced in," said Gary Ross, CEO of Black Gold Investors and a veteran oil market analyst. "This situation is not manageable without some demand destruction and much higher prices, unless the conflict ends."
Analysts have also said the pace of daily IEA stock releases would matter as much as, if not more than, the overall size.
If 100m barrels were released over the next month, the daily pace will amount to around 3.3m barrels per day — a fraction of the current disruption of around 20m bpd, with the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman effectively blocked.
In 2022, IEA member countries released 182.7m barrels of oil and oil products in two stages, which was then the largest in IEA history, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"Pressure came mainly from the US government, which wants this release," an EU diplomat had said, speaking before the IEA statement.In the G7 video, Trump said he agreed with the IEA decision.
US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum had welcomed initial reports of the planned release of oil reserves, while saying in an interview with Fox News that he did not believe the world was facing an energy shortage.
"We've got a transit problem, which is temporary," he said. "You have a temporary transit problem that we're resolving militarily and diplomatically, which we can resolve and will resolve."
G7 member Japan said it planned to release around 80m barrels from its private and national oil reserves as its contribution.
"Rather than wait for formal IEA approval of a coordinated international reserve release, Japan will act first to ease global energy market supply and demand, releasing reserves as early as the 16th of this month," Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a broadcast statement.
Western economies coordinate their strategic oil stockpiles through the IEA, which was formed in 1974 after the oil crisis.IEA members hold emergency stockpiles of more than 1.2 billion barrels, with another 600m in industry stocks held under government obligation.
‘We only think of enemy's complete surrender,’ says Iran’s IRGC
Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said they would continue striking Israeli and US bases across the Middle East until it perceives the threat of war against Iran has ended.
“We only think of the enemy's complete surrender," the IRGC said in a statement on its official outlet, Sepah News. The IRGC claimed that its 38th wave of attacks late Tuesday hit the US Al-Udairi base in Kuwait, sending more than 100 troops to nearby hospitals.
The IRGC also claimed missile and drone strikes on US naval infrastructure at Mina Salman port in Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet, as well as attacks on Kuwait's Ali Al-Salem Air Base and Mohammed Al-Ahmad Naval Base.
Earlier on Tuesday, the IRGC said it targeted a satellite communications centre south of Tel Aviv and military sites in Beer Yaakov, West Jerusalem, and Haifa with Khorramshahr missiles. It also claimed attacks on several US positions in Erbil, Iraq.
Separately, Iran's army reported early on Wednesday drone strikes on Israeli Military Intelligence, the Unit 8200 cyber division, a Green Pine radar installation, and a submarine command center at Haifa's naval base.
The flare-up follows joint US-Israeli strikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities on February 28, which killed former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior military commanders. In response, Iran has carried out repeated missile and drone attacks on US and Israeli targets in the region.
In the latest strike on Iranian soil, Bank Sepah, a major bank in Iran, said a US-Israeli missile hit one of its Tehran buildings around 1am local time Wednesday, injuring and killing employees on the overnight shift. State broadcaster IRIB confirmed the attack but did not provide casualty figures.
The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters -- Iran's primary military command -- warned the strike would prompt retaliation, saying the attack on a bank "freed" Iran to target US and Israeli financial institutions across the region.
The Military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari urged civilians to stay at least one kilometre away from such facilities.Trump says Iran war will end ‘soon’ as there is ‘practically nothing left to target’
Trump has said the war with Iran will end "soon" because there is "practically nothing left to target." "Little this and that... Any time I want it to end, it will end," he said during a five-minute phone interview with Axios on Wednesday.
Even as Trump publicly signals his 'Operation Epic Fury' has largely accomplished its objectives, US and Israeli officials say there has been no internal directive on when fighting might stop.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Wednesday that they struck two vessels after they ignored warnings from the IRGC Navy and attempted to navigate the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
“The vessel ‘Expres Room’, owned by the Zionist regime, flying the Liberian flag, was struck with Iranian projectiles this morning after ignoring warnings from the IRGC Navy,” the IRGC said in a statement posted on X handle ‘True Promise’, the codenamed Iran has given to its retaliatory operation against the US-Israel attacks in the Islamic republic.
“The container ship ‘Mayuree Naree Bangkok’ was also struck a few hours earlier after ignoring alerts and warnings from the IRGC Navy and illegally insisting on passing through the Strait of Hormuz,” the Guards further claimed.
“We will not allow even a single litre of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for the benefit of the US, the Zionist regime or their partners,” it added.
In a separate post, the Iranian forces claimed to have delivered "a devastating blow" to the Israeli military intelligence directorate.
"The Iranian army attacked with drones this morning, hitting various targets in the occupied territories, including the military intelligence directorate, known as AMAN, Unit 8200, the Green Pine radar, as well as the submarine headquarters building at the naval base in Haifa," it added.
Earlier, Iran's military command said the world should be prepared for oil to hit $200 a barrel, as three more ships came under attack in the blockaded Gulf.
Iran fired at Israel and targets across the Middle East, demonstrating it could still fight back and disrupt energy supplies despite what the Pentagon has described as the most intense US-Israeli strikes yet.
Oil prices that shot up earlier this week have eased, and stock markets have rebounded, with investors betting for now that Trump will find a quick way to end the war he began alongside Israel nearly two weeks ago.
But so far, there has been no let-up on the ground, or any sign that ships can safely sail through the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world's oil has been blockaded behind a narrow channel along the Iranian coast in the worst disruption to energy supplies since the oil shocks of the 1970s.
"Get ready for oil to be $200 a barrel, because the oil price depends on regional security which you have destabilised," Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran's military command, said in comments addressed to the US.
After offices of a bank in Tehran were hit overnight, Zolfaqari also said Iran would respond with attacks on banks that do business with the United States or Israel. People across the Middle East should stay 1,000 metres from banks, he added.
A senior Israeli official told Reuters Israeli leaders now privately accept that Iran's ruling system could survive the war. Two other Israeli officials said there was no sign Washington was close to ending the campaign.
The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency has released a list of offices and infrastructure run by top US companies with Israeli links whose technology has been used for military applications, describing them as “Iran’s new targets”.
“As the scope of the regional war expands to infrastructure war, the scope of Iran’s legitimate targets expands,” it said.
The companies include Google, Microsoft, Palantir, IBM, Nvidia and Oracle, and the listed offices and infrastructure for cloud-based services are located in multiple Israeli cities, as well as in some Gulf countries.
Iran's Araghchi urges UN chief to condemn aggression
Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi held a telephone conversation with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in which they “discussed and exchanged views regarding the latest developments following the attack and aggression of the US and Israeli regime against Iran,” the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Ministry wrote on X.
Araghchi discussed what the ministry termed “the various dimensions of the aggressive attack and American-Zionist war crimes,” noting that schools, hospitals, residential areas, as well as historical sites, have been targeted. These actions, the Iranian foreign minister said, “constitute a clear violation of international law and the fundamental principles of humanitarian law.”
In reference to the human consequences and damages due to the attacks, Araghchi called for “a decisive and explicit condemnation of these actions by the international community and responsible institutions,” the ministry wrote.
He further stressed Iran’s “inherent right to defend itself against this imposed war,” and stated that the Islamic Republic had warned relevant parties in the region and beyond, that in the event of US military action against Iran, the latter would target all American facilities and bases in the region. This, he said, would lead to the war expanding across the entire region.
“Araghchi emphasised that such actions would be taken within the framework of the right to self-defence and based on the recognised norms of international law,” the ministry wrote.
Furthermore, he referred to the UN’s responsibility to maintain international peace and security, noting the Iranian government’s expectation for Guterres to “adopt stronger and more responsible positions in explicitly condemning the aggression and crimes committed.” He noted that silence or inadequate reactions to such actions could pave the way for continued instability and the escalation of regional tensions.
Guterres, meanwhile, “emphasised the need to respect the principles of international law and avoid escalation of tension,” stating that there is no doubt regarding Iran’s right to defend itself
Separately, Araghchi held a phone conversation with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, during which they discussed regional developments.
In a post on X, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that Araghchi “detailed the crimes committed by the US and Israeli regime against the Iranian nation over the past 11 days.” This included the missile attack on a girls' elementary school in Minab as well as attacks on civilian sites and public service centres.
According to the ministry, Araghchi emphasised Iran's determination to defend Iranian integrity. He “described the aggressive act by the US and the Israeli regime as a violation of the fundamental principles and rules of the United Nations Charter and international law, noting that all governments have a responsibility to condemn this military aggression and blatant law-breaking.”
The foreign minister also discussed the consequences of the military aggression on the security of shipping and vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi told Jaishankar that “the insecure situation and problems arising for shipping in the Persian Gulf are a result of the aggressive and destabilising actions of the United States,” adding that the international community must hold the US accountable for this situation.
Jaishankar emphasised the "importance of continuing and enhancing bilateral relations between Tehran and New Delhi,” and also stressed the need for consultations to help restore regional stability.
Iran launches fresh regional strikes as oil fears mount and global markets reel
Iran unleashed early on Wednesday defiant new strikes around the region, including drones targeting a Saudi oilfield, as the International Energy Agency reportedly proposed its largest-ever oil reserve release to calm markets and prices.
The war sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran has spread across the region and caused spiking energy costs, forcing fuel rationing, price hikes and even school closures globally.
G7 leaders will meet by video conference later Wednesday to discuss the war's economic consequences, particularly the "energy situation," the French presidency said, with the IEA also due to decide on a proposal for its largest-ever oil reserve release, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Al Jazeera describes explosions in the sky over Doha as air defence systems intercepting Iranian missiles.The United States on Tuesday said it was hitting Iranian ships capable of mining the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial passageway for oil that has been effectively closed by Iranian threats.
Israel also launched new waves of strikes both in Beirut and Tehran, where residents hunkered down after being smothered by black rain from Israeli bombing of fuel depots.
On Wednesday morning, Israeli strikes across Lebanon killed 16 and wounded 26, according to Anadolu Agency. Additionally, an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential apartment in the Aisha Bakkar area of Beirut, causing destruction. One person has been reported killed by Israeli drone in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, and Israeli warplanes strike near Rayak-Baalbek highway in eastern Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera.