YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon, March 25, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The war in the Middle East could cause the "worst industrial crisis in living memory", the head of the International Chamber of Commerce warned Wednesday.

Skyrocketing crude prices since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran in late February have raised fears of a global recession, with Tehran in effect choking oil shipments through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

"The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that the world is facing an energy crisis more severe than the oil shocks of the 1970s," ICC chief John Denton said.

"From a business perspective, we believe this could yet become the worst industrial crisis in living memory," he added, speaking on the eve of the meeting of World Trade Organization ministers in Yaounde, Cameroon.

"Not only because of surging energy prices, but because industrial production itself is being disrupted and dislocated by shortages of gas and other essential inputs".

Denton warned that the situation was already alarming, with Iran's de facto Hormuz blockade preventing the export of fossil fuels, fertilisers and other goods from the oil-rich Gulf region.

"We are already seeing major companies... cut output as shortages ripple through energy, chemicals and other critical supply chains," he said.

- 'Very real risk' for farming -

"And -- let's be clear -- the consequences do not stop at industry. Disruption to trade in agricultural fertilisers now creates a very real risk for the next harvest season ... with farmers across the world, and perhaps most acutely in Africa, facing supply shortages and price increases that may force lower application rates of essential nutrients.

"(This is) a situation that ultimately -- and inevitably -- will translate into much lower agricultural yields and food security risks later this year," Denton said.

"That is why it is vital that the international community does everything possible to restore safe passage of commercial shipping through the Gulf, as well as acting early to mitigate the foreseeable damage to the real economy while those efforts continue."

While the WTO has faced criticism of its failure to adapt and reform for the era of global trade tensions and US President Donald Trump's tariffs, Denton praised the body "for the speed with which it has responded" to the Middle East crisis.

"Its new tool to track essential shipments through the Strait of Hormuz is exactly the kind of practical, responsive support that businesses need from the multilateral system in moments of crisis."

Denton argued that the crisis was "a stark reminder of why a functioning, credible and responsive multilateral trading system still matters".