ECONOMYNEXT – As the US blockade targeting vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman continued, the International Monetary Fund has said that the war added a new source of fiscal pressure to an already strained global landscape. US President Donald Trump enforced a military blockade he said to form a chokehold: “Iran could run out of oil storage with Trump blockade, wreaking havoc with its economy.” Meanwhile, the IMF at its meetings in Washington issued gloomy forecasts for the global economy, cutting growth expectations. “The outbreak of war in the Middle East has added a new source of fiscal pressure to an already strained global landscape, but its fiscal impact is highly asymmetric,” the global lender said.

Global debt is projected to reach 100 percent of GDP by 2029, it said at its Spring Meetings in Washington. China is the biggest buyer of Iran’s oil with about a third of its domestic oil needs met from Iran. A continuing blockade could impact the second largest economy of the world. “Russia can undoubtedly make up for the resource deficit that has emerged, both for the People’s Republic of China and for all countries willing to work with us in a fair and mutually beneficial manner,” Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov has told reporters in Beijing. (Colombo/Apr15/2026)