Iran war: Oil stocks being used up at record pace, IEA warns

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AdvertisementSkip next section What you need to know

What you need to know

• The IEA has warned about depleting oil stocks amid the continued blocking of the Strait of Hormuz
• Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi is traveling to Delhi ahead of Thursday's BRICS meeting
• Another person has been hanged in Iran over espionage

Welcome to DW's coverage of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East on Wednesday, 13 May, 2026. You can catch up on Tuesday's developments here.

Skip next section End to Iran war is in China's interest, says German politician05/13/2026May 13, 2026

End to Iran war is in China's interest, says German politician

It is in the interests of both the United States and China to bring the ongoing war against Iran to an end, according to senior German politician Armin Laschet.

"This war has cost the whole global economy €30 billion so far," Laschet told German broadcaster ZDF on Wednesday, pointing out that the majority of oil exported via the Strait of Hormuz is destined for China.

"That's why China must push for the strait to be opened again," he said.

Laschet previously headed up Germany's conservative Christian Democrat Union (CDU), leading the party to its worst ever election result in 2021, and currently chairs the German parliament's foreign affairs committee.

Speaking ahead of Donald Trump's visit to Beijing this week, Laschet said the US President would also be discussing sales of Boeing airplanes to China – a move which would increase pressure on European manufacturers.

"The Chinese have been purchasing European Airbus models a lot in recent years," he said. "If they enter into a deal with Trump, that will put the Europeans under pressure because there will be a knock-on effect on jobs [in Europe] if Boeing is being bought more than Airbus."

https://p.dw.com/p/5Dh0ASkip next section Israeli strikes kill 8 south of Beirut, Lebanon's Health Ministry says05/13/2026May 13, 2026

Israeli strikes kill 8 south of Beirut, Lebanon's Health Ministry says

Israel said on Wednesday that it had launched a new wave of attacks across southern Lebanon, claiming to be targeting infrastructure belonging to the Iranian-backed paramilitary group Hezbollah.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said eight people were killed in strikes targeting cars on a highway south of Beirut, including two children.

"The IDF has begun striking Hezbollah terror infrastructure in several areas in southern Lebanon," the Israeli military said in a statement, hours after issuing fresh evacuation warnings for a number of villages in the area.

Two vehicles were targeted on a major highway linking the Lebanese capital Beirut to the south of the country on Wednesday, according to Lebanese state media, with the AFP news agency providing visual confirmation of at least one burned-out car and emergency services carrying a body.

Israel has continued to conduct airstrikes against Hezbollah despite a mid-April truce aimed at halting the fighting.

On Tuesday, 13 people were killed in attacks on towns in southern Lebanon, according to the country's Health Ministry, which said a total of 380 people had been killed since the start of the ceasefire.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem warned on Tuesday that he would turn battlefields in southern Lebanon into "hell" for Israeli troops in the country despite the ceasefire.

Since Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the wider regional war in early March on the side of its (Hezbollah's) Iranian backers, more than 2,800 people have been killed in Lebanon, including 200 children, according to the government.

Hezbollah hits back with drones in Israel's Lebanon war

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https://p.dw.com/p/5DgeGSkip next section Iran hangs man accused of spying for Israel05/13/2026May 13, 2026

Iran hangs man accused of spying for Israel

A man was hanged in Iran on Wednesday after being found guilty of passing information to Israeli intelligence – the latest in a wave of executions carried out since the start of the current conflict.

"Ehsan Afreshteh, a spy trained by Mossad in Nepal who sold sensitive information to Israel, has been executed," said the Iranian judiciary, adding:

"Arrested and tried for espionage and collaboration with the Zionist regime, he was hanged this morning after ... the verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court."

Iran is the world's second-most prolific executioner after China, according to rights groups.

Since the start of the war with Israel and the United States in February, Iran has ramped up executions, particularly in cases involving alleged espionage.

On Monday, an aerospace engineering student was hanged after being convicted of spying for Israel and the USA.

Iran's regime wants to fast-track trials of protesters

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https://p.dw.com/p/5DgIPSkip next section Iran war overshadows BRICS meeting in Delhi05/13/2026May 13, 2026

Iran war overshadows BRICS meeting in Delhi

Foreign ministers from the BRICS grouping of countries are set to meet in Delhi, India, on Thursday for a two-day meeting which is likely to be dominated by the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran.

The grouping, ‌which originally included ⁠Brazil, ⁠Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has expanded over the years to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – with the latter two on opposing sides in the current conflict.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to arrive in Delhi late on Wednesday, with Tehran urging hosts India to use the BRICS platform to build a consensus ​condemning the attacks of the United States and Israel.

But Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal cautioned in March that it was "difficult for us to forge a consensus" because of members being directly involved in the conflict.

Who is attending the BRICS summit?

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is also ‌expected to attend the meeting but his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi will remain in Beijing for the visit of US President Donald Trump and will be represented in Delhi by China's ambassador to India.

Given its robust ties with both Iran and Sunni-majority Arab states, China has so far taken a nominally neutral stance on the war in the Middle East.

"Glad that the foreign ministers from all the BRICS countries, except China ​who is otherwise tied up, are coming. This is a good sign on efforts to build a BRICS coalition around a matter ​of interest to emerging ‌economies and the global south," former Indian diplomat Manjeev Singh Puri told the Reuters news agency.

"Of course political solutions are difficult but the fact that they are meeting is positive and hopefully ​it will lead to a way ⁠forward."

What is BRICS and what does it want?

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https://p.dw.com/p/5DgHdSkip next section Global oil reserves being drawn at 'record pace' – IEA05/13/2026May 13, 2026

Global oil reserves being drawn at 'record pace' – IEA

Countries around the world are tapping into strategic oil reserves at a "record pace" due to "unprecedented" supply disruptions caused by the ongoing war in the Middle East, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Wednesday.

The IEA said in March that it would provide global markets with 400 million barrels from the emergency stocks of IEA members, of which around 164 million barrels have already been drawn.

After a 129-million-barrel drawdown in March in the immediate aftermath of the initial US and Israeli attacks on Iran, global stocks were reportedly down by a further 117 million barrels in April.

"The pace of emergency stock releases picked up pace in April, with further volumes set to hit the market in the coming months," the IEA said in its monthly report, warning:

"Rapidly shrinking buffers amid continued disruptions may herald future price spikes ahead."

In response to the US-Israeli strikes, Iran has effectively closed the strategic Strait of Hormuz to Gulf oil and gas exports, sending prices soaring and forcing countries around the world to scramble for alternative supplies.

As the summer travel season approaches in the northern hemisphere, airlines are already warning of jet fuel shortages if supply disruptions persist.

"With global oil inventories already drawing at a record clip, further price volatility appears likely ahead of the peak summer demand period," the agency said.

"Higher prices, a deteriorating economic environment and demand-saving measures will further weigh on global oil consumption."

US gas prices soar as Iran standoff fuels oil market fears

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https://p.dw.com/p/5DgZISkip next section Welcome to our coverage05/13/2026May 13, 2026

Welcome to our coverage

Matt Ford | Rana Taha Editor

Hello and welcome to DW's coverage of the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran and developments across the wider Middle East on Wednesday, 13 May, 2026.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to arrive in Delhi later today ahead of a BRICS summit which is set to be overshadowed by the ongoing war.

In Iran itself, authorities have hanged another person convicted of espionage.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest on this unfolding story and its impact on the global economy.

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