Europe has “maybe 6 weeks or so [of] jet fuel left”, the head of the International Energy Agency said on Thursday in a wide-ranging interview, warning of possible flight cancellations “soon” if oil supplies remain blocked by the Iran war.

IEA executive director Fatih Birol painted a sobering picture of the global repercussions of what he called “the largest energy crisis we have ever faced”, stemming from the pinch-off of oil, gas and other vital supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.

“In the past there was a group called ‘Dire Straits’. It’s a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world,” he said.

The impact will be “higher petrol prices, higher gas prices, high electricity prices,” Birol said.

Economic pain will be felt unevenly, with some countries “hit worse than the others”, he said, naming Japan, South Korea, India, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh as being on the front line of the energy crisis.

“The countries who will suffer the most will not be those whose voices are heard a lot. It will be mainly the developing countries. Poorer countries in Asia, in Africa and in Latin America,” he said.