Qatar's government delivered a blunt warning to global markets on Monday: the worst economic shockwaves from the US-Israel war on Iran are still ahead, not behind.

Speaking at a security forum in Doha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said instability around the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for roughly a fifth of the world's oil and LNG shipments, will keep rattling energy prices "in the coming days and months."

"WE HAVEN'T REACHED THE PEAK WITH RESPECT TO ENERGY," AL THANI TOLD THE FORUM.

The remarks land nearly eight months into the war, which began when US and Israeli forces struck Iranian targets on February 28. Iran's retaliation has repeatedly hit Gulf infrastructure, including a March missile strike on Qatar's Ras Laffan industrial complex — the heart of the country's LNG export industry. Al Thani said Doha was "surprised" by that attack and that full repairs are now expected to take several years, with the damaged production trains alone estimated to cost Qatar roughly $20 billion a year in lost revenue.

Tolls rejected, back-channel talks continue

Al Thani also pushed back on proposals, reportedly floated between Iran and Oman, to impose permanent transit fees on ships passing through Hormuz, warning that such charges would ultimately be paid by consumers worldwide. Despite the hostilities, he said Qatar has kept communication open with Tehran "at various levels," citing the two countries' shared offshore gas field, and voiced hope that mediation by Qatar, Pakistan and Oman could still produce a broader settlement among the US, Iran, Israel and other regional players.

On defense, the deputy PM confirmed Qatar is preparing to unveil a new regional security partnership focused on air defense, counter-drone systems and cybersecurity, though he declined to name the partners involved. He credited decades of US-Qatari defense cooperation — centered on the Al Udeid airbase outside Doha — with intercepting the large majority of attacks aimed at the country, including a March incident in which Qatari F-15s shot down Iranian Su-24 bombers minutes from the base.

The comments underscore how a war that began as a US-Israel-Iran confrontation has metastasized into a standing threat to global energy supply, with Gulf states caught between hosting American military power and trying to keep a lid on an open-ended conflict next door.