PARIS — A group of the world’s top economies has agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil, in a bid to counter soaring prices and the risk of a supply shock from the war in Iran.
The agreement was reached following a meeting Tuesday of the 32 members of the International Energy Agency, which include the U.S., Japan, Germany, the U.K. and France.
It will represent the largest release of reserves in the body’s history and is more than twice the 182 million barrels of oil IEA countries released following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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The historic decision reflects growing fears that the U.S. and Israeli attacks on the oil-rich region are escalating into a deep global energy crisis.
