Qatar’s Finance Minister, Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, warned at the IMF Spring Meetings that the global economy faces a major recession unless the conflict in the Middle East is resolved immediately. He described recent oil price spikes as merely the “tip of the iceberg,” predicting that the most severe global economic fallout from the war with Iran will materialize by May or June 2026. Al Kuwari emphasized that the impact will extend far beyond the Gulf, affecting the entire world within the next two months.
The minister highlighted the difficult position of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, noting they are “caught in the middle” of rising hostilities. Beyond general market instability, the conflict has directly hit energy infrastructure; Iranian missile strikes have damaged Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities. As Qatar supplies nearly 20% of the world’s LNG, these disruptions represent a critical threat to international energy security and are already pushing global gas prices upward.
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