From Oil to Food: How the Iran War Could Disrupt Global Stability

March 26, 2026

Podcast Deep Dish on Global Affairs Podcast

Catherine Bertini and Michael Werz explain how the Iran war could ripple from energy markets into global food systems, driving prices higher and worsening global food security.

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About The Episode

Gas prices may be the first way Americans feel the war in Iran, but Catherine Bertini, former executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme, and Michael Werz of the Council on Foreign Relations explain why the deeper impact could unfold across global food systems—where rising energy costs and supply chain disruptions could drive prices higher, worsen hunger, intensify humanitarian pressures and destabilize vulnerable regions far beyond Iran.

About the Speakers

Catherine Bertini

Distinguished Fellow, Global Food and Agriculture

Catherine Bertini served as executive director of the UN World Food Program, the world’s largest international humanitarian agency, from 1992 to 2002 prior to joining the Council. She was named the World Food Prize laureate in 2003 for her groundbreaking leadership there.

Michael Werz

Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations

Michael Werz is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and senior advisor for North America and multilateral affairs to the Munich Security Conference. He is a member of the steering committee at the Center on Contemporary China and the World at Hong Kong University, a founding member of the WP Intelligence Council on Global Security, and the codirector of Nexus.

Leslie Vinjamuri

President & Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Dr. Leslie Vinjamuri joined the Council in 2025 as the president and chief executive officer, after previously serving as director of the US and the Americas program at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, known as Chatham House, in London. She is Professor of Practice in International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS University of London.

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