US-Iran war drives global energy crisis and street protests

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According to major international outlets, the **US-Iran war** has become the central driver of a mounting global energy and economic crisis, with fuel prices surging and rolling blackouts hitting numerous countries.[10] This shock is feeding directly into higher inflation, prompting central banks such as Japan’s to raise interest rates to multi‑decade highs in an effort to curb rising prices linked to elevated energy costs.[1][2] The strain is increasingly visible at street level, where protesters are mobilizing across the world to denounce unaffordable fuel, electricity shortages, and the broader economic fallout from the conflict.[10] The war’s effects are also intersecting with wider geopolitical and security concerns, from maritime disruptions in key shipping lanes to intensifying hybrid attacks and instability in several regions, reinforcing its status as the most consequential and fast‑moving story on the global agenda.[1][2][10]

Sources: CNN, BBC News, The Guardian, NPR, Reuters, Al Jazeera