The global economy is under "major threat" from the energy crisis caused by the Middle East war and "no country will be immune" to its effects, International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol said Monday.

Speaking at the National Press Club in Australia's capital, Birol compared the current energy crisis to those of the 1970s and the impact of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

"This crisis as things stand is now two oil crises and one gas crash put all together," Birol said.

Energy industry leaders will converge on Texas this week for an annual conference dominated by oil and gas supply disruptions from the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.

More than 10,000 attendees are expected for CERAWeek, the spring gathering in Houston that has taken on unexpected importance as fuel prices soar since the Mideast war began in late February.

"It will be a CERAWeek for the ages," said Mark Brownstein, senior vice president of energy at the Environmental Defense Fund.

By Maayan Lubell, Alexander Cornwell and Idrees Ali

TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM/WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - Iran warned it would strike energy and water infrastructure across the Gulf if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on his threat to attack its electricity grid, raising fears of mass disruption in a region heavily dependent on desalination for drinking water.

Hundreds of Syrians protested in central Damascus on Sunday against new restrictions on alcohol sales, reflecting wider fears that the Islamist authorities may tighten curbs on personal freedoms.

The Syrian capital last week banned the sale of alcoholic beverages in restaurants and bars, only allowing stores in three Christian neighbourhoods to sell bottles for retail.

Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:

- Oil prices rise -

Oil prices sank and most stocks rose Tuesday, following a Wall Street Journal report that indicated Donald Trump was willing to end the Iran war even if the key Strait of Hormuz remained closed.

Market experts did however warn that any US ground operation or wider Iranian retaliation could send oil prices to levels not seen since July 2008, when Brent hit almost $150 a barrel.

The United States may need to "escalate" its attacks against Iran to be able to wind down the war, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday, after President Donald Trump gave seemingly contradictory trajectories for the US military campaign.

Trump on Saturday threatened to "obliterate" Iranian energy plants if Tehran did not fully open the pivotal Strait of Hormuz, just a day after saying US objectives were "very close" and that he was considering "winding down" the war.

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. government has "plenty of money" to fund the war against Iran, but is requesting supplemental funding from Congress to ensure the military is well supplied in the future, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday.

Bessent, speaking on NBC News' "Meet the Press" program, also ruled out pushing for any tax increases to fund the war.

DUBAI, March 22 (Reuters) - Iran will completely shut the strategic Strait of Hormuz if U.S. President Trump executes threats to target Iranian energy facilities, the country's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Sunday.

Trump on Saturday threatened to "obliterate" Iran's power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48-hours, suggesting a significant escalation barely a day after he talked about "winding down" the war, now in its fourth week.

By Alexander Cornwell and Dedi Hayun

TEL AVIV/ARAD March 22 (Reuters) - Southern Israeli towns woke to widespread damage on Sunday after air defences failed to intercept two Iranian missiles overnight that injured scores of civilians in one of the worst attacks of the war so far on Israeli soil.

As daylight broke, the scale of the damage in the desert town of Arad, where one of the strikes hit a multi-story apartment bloc, came into clearer view, with entire floors blown open by the blast.

VATICAN CITY, March 22 (Reuters) - Pope Leo on Sunday said death and suffering caused by the war in the Middle East are a "scandal to the whole human family", renewing his plea for an immediate ceasefire.

As the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran enters its fourth week, the first U.S. pope said that he continues to follow with "dismay" the situation in the Middle East and in other regions torn apart by war and violence.