The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a cautionary statement regarding the potential for a worldwide recession, should the ongoing conflict involving Iran persist. This announcement came during the Spring Meetings of 2026, held in Washington, D.C., alongside the World Bank.

The IMF has revised its global growth projection down to 2 percent. Specifically, it has lowered the growth expectations for the West Asia and North Africa regions to 1.1 percent. Additionally, the forecast for China has been adjusted to 4.4 percent.

In terms of the United Kingdom, the IMF anticipates a modest growth rate of only 0.8 percent. Economic expansion within the Eurozone is also expected to decelerate, with a forecast of 1.1 percent growth.

IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas indicated that central banks may not need to increase interest rates in the immediate future. Furthermore, the Fund has predicted a rise in global inflation to 6 percent by 2027, alongside warnings of potential increases in unemployment and food insecurity.