Oil prices could soar to more than $100 a barrel if Iran blocks the Strait of Hormuz, experts have predicted.
Blocking the Strait - the world's most important crude shipping route - is on the cards as Iran looks to pursue retaliation for the US bombing its nuclear sites.
On Sunday, Iran's parliament voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil supplies are shipped.
Now, the country's Supreme National Security Council will decide whether to approve the step, which The Times reports analysts have described as a "worst case scenario".
Kallum Pickering, chief economist at Peel Hunt, said disruption to the strait could cause “a significant global supply and price shock, depressing global GDP and pushing up inflation”.
Brent crude, which is the global benchmark oil price, has already risen by approximately $10 since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13.
When markets opened this morning, it sat just under $78 a barrel.
Historian Sir Niall Ferguson told The Times CEO blocking the strait would send oil "way above" $100 a barrel, while David Fyfe, chief economist at Argus Media, suggested it could reach as much as $150 a barrel.
It comes as the UK government's new 10-year industrial strategy aims to lower energy costs for thousands of businesses by ditching green levies.
The plan, due to be announced this morning, hopes to slash energy bills by up to 25% for more than 7,000 UK businesses, among other growth boosting measures.