IEA director Fatih Birol told The Guardian that the Iran war has permanently shifted global energy markets away from oil toward renewables and nuclear, with countries now prioritizing energy independence over fossil fuel reliance. He also said UK North Sea oil expansion would provide little energy security benefit and wouldn't lower energy prices, contradicting industry calls for new drilling permits. This is a high-profile economist making forward-looking strategic claims based on observed shifts in government policy and energy investment patterns — views that matter for UK energy policy decisions currently under debate.