Energy & the Real Cost of War with Iran

🗓️ Event: Energy & the Real Cost of War with Iran 📅 Date: May 5 ⏰ Time: 7:00 PM EDT 📍 Location: Van Metre Hall Auditorium, Mason Square, 3351 N Fairfax Dr, Arlington, VA 🎥 Livestream: YouTube @haydencenter 🎓 Hosted by: Michael V. Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University In a moment when tensions in the Persian Gulf are reshaping global markets and testing the resilience of the international order, understanding the energy dimension of conflict has never been more urgent. What happens in the Strait of Hormuz doesn’t stay there—it reverberates through oil prices, supply chains, national security decisions, and the global energy transition. Join us for a timely and insightful discussion that goes beyond headlines to unpack the real economic stakes and what it all means for policymakers, industry leaders, and the public. On May 5, 2026, we convened leading experts to examine the geoeconomics and energy politics of the conflict in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz crisis. Moving beyond traditional military and political analysis, this discussion explored the oil and natural gas aspects of the conflict, the intersection of energy and national security, what it means for the global energy transition, and how intelligence and diplomacy inform decision-making during crises. Moderator: David Priess– Hayden Center Senior Fellow and former Central Intelligence Agency analyst and daily intelligence briefer; author of The President's Book of Secrets., the definitive history of the President's daily intelligence briefing; Global Head of Training & Education for Emergent Risk International. Featured Speakers: Mark Finley – Former CIA senior analyst and manager focused on global energy markets and their implications for US strategic interests, as well as the policies of key oil-producing and -consuming countries; currently the Non-Resident Fellow in energy and global oil at the Center for Energy Studies at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy; former senior US economist at BP, responsible for production of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy. Richard Kauzlarich – Former National Intelligence Officer for Europe in the National Intelligence Council; 32-year veteran of the US State Department's Foreign Service, including ambassadorial postings to Azerbaijan and Bosnia and Herzogovina, among other senior positions; currently a Distinguished Visiting Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Energy Science and Policy at the Schar School. The Hayden Center is located at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government in Arlington, VA. General Hayden, our founder and former Director of both the CIA and the National Security Agency, has been a distinguished visiting professor at Schar School for 16 years. Consider honoring General Hayden by supporting the Hayden Center with a donation. Please click https://tinyurl.com/ycx4j6kv and fill out the form. Thank you for your generosity. For more about the Hayden Center, visit our website at haydencenter.gmu.edu. Catch up on all of our Hayden Center events on our YouTube channel!