MADRID, March 17. /TASS/. The Spanish government has approved the release of up to 11.5 million barrels of oil from the country's strategic reserves as part of an agreement among International Energy Agency (IEA) members, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for the Ecological Transition Sara Aagesen announced at a press conference.

She recalled the IEA members' decision to release a total of 400 million barrels of oil from emergency stocks to stabilize the market amid the Middle East conflict.

"Spain accounts for 2.9% of this volume, which amounts to 11.5 million barrels or 12.3 days of national consumption," the official added.

IEA member states agreed on March 11 to release 400 million barrels of oil from their storage facilities. According to IEA head Fatih Birol, the agency's members will release this volume to the market amid the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

On March 2, Major General Ebrahim Jabbari of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that the Strait of Hormuz, which handles approximately one-fifth of global oil exports, would be closed to shipping due to the Israeli and US military operation against the Islamic Republic.

On March 5, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the strait was not officially closed, but that tankers were avoiding the route for fear of strikes from both sides. However, on March 10, IRGC Naval Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri announced that the Strait of Hormuz is closed to all vessels associated with the US and Israel.