European natural gas prices resumed their climb after U.S. President Donald Trump escalated threats to destroy key Iranian infrastructure unless an agreement to end the conflict is reached by the Tuesday deadline.
Benchmark futures rose by as much as 3.1%, extending gains of more than 55% since the war began.
Trump said the U.S. military could destroy “every bridge in Iran by 12:00 tomorrow night” if Tehran does not agree to a deal by 8:00 PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, April 7. Power plants, he said, would “burn, explode, and never be used again.”
He also stressed that freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz must be part of any agreement, calling its reopening “a very high priority.” Iran, for its part, warned that such strikes would prompt it to intensify attacks on energy infrastructure across the Persian Gulf—a step that could tighten global energy supplies even further.
For Europe, prolonged restrictions would be especially painful—they could complicate efforts to refill gas storage sites, which are currently just over 28% full, ahead of next winter. Although most Middle Eastern gas traditionally goes to Asia, sustained disruption in the region would intensify competition for limited volumes of liquefied natural gas on the global market.
According to traders, Iran has not allowed a single LNG tanker to pass through the Strait of Hormuz during the weeks of conflict, raising the risk of a further squeeze. Traffic through the waterway has fallen sharply since the war began: oil tankers and other vessels are passing only sporadically, typically with Tehran’s permission, while roughly one-fifth of global LNG supplies remains blocked.
Front-month gas futures at the Dutch hub—the key benchmark for Europe—were up 1.5% at 8:21 AM in Amsterdam, reaching €50.80 per megawatt-hour.