‘City of Glass’ Is Under Threat From Iran War

May 4, 2026 - 09:35

For centuries, the city of Firozabad in northern India has been known as the "City of Glass," its narrow lanes lined with furnaces that shape everything from delicate bangles to sturdy laboratory beakers. But an ancient craft is now facing a modern crisis. The escalating tensions between Iran and the West are driving up global fuel prices, and for Firozabad's glassmakers, that cost is proving too heavy to bear.

Glass production is an energy-hungry business. Furnaces must burn at extreme temperatures around the clock, and the primary fuel is natural gas or furnace oil. As crude oil prices spike due to fears of a wider war in the Middle East, the price of these fuels has jumped sharply. Small workshops, many of which operate on razor-thin margins, are struggling to keep their kilns lit.

"We have already lost half our workers in the last two years," said a local artisan, wiping soot from his face. "Now, the cost of gas has doubled. We either raise our prices and lose customers, or we shut down." Many units have already cut production by a third. The industry, which employs hundreds of thousands of people directly and indirectly, was already reeling from the pandemic and competition from cheaper machine-made goods. The new fuel shock is threatening to shatter what remains.

Local trade associations have appealed to the government for subsidized fuel and emergency loans, but so far, no relief has arrived. If the Iran situation worsens, experts warn that Firozabad's centuries-old tradition could be reduced to a memory, its famous glassworks replaced by silence and cold furnaces.