Oil and gas prices continue to rise as attacks in Middle East intensify
As the US and Israel step up their attacks on Iran and Tehran threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz, oil and gas prices continue to rise.
The price for a barrel of Brent oil from the North Sea rose to 80 USD. On Monday, the price had already risen 7 per cent. The US grade of West Texas Intermediate cost almost 73 USD. The turmoil is also pushing up gas prices.
The attack on Iran has repercussions across the Middle East, including on energy production. The Ras Tanura refinery in Saudi Arabia was shut down after a drone attack in the area on Monday. In Qatar, LNG production was halted after an Iranian attack. Qatar is a major supplier of LNG to Europe, including through Zeebrugge.
On the leading Amsterdam stock exchange, the price of gas rose more than 20 per cent to almost 54 euros on Tuesday morning. It had risen 36 per cent on Monday amid concerns over supply disruptions.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow strait between Oman and Iran, is vital for oil and gas exports. A fifth of world production passes through it. It was announced on Iranian state television that any ship trying to sail there would be set on fire.
Embassy struck
Meanwhile, the US embassy in the Saudi capital Riyadh has been closed after it was hit by two drones. “All routine and emergency American Citizen Services appointments are cancelled,” the embassy said in a statement. “Avoid the Embassy until further notice due to an attack on the facility.” It advised US citizens in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran to stay indoors.
Witnesses told news agency AFP they saw smoke above the building. Further explosions were heard in the centre of the capital, according to an AFP journalist and witnesses.
The US State Department has since ordered the evacuation of all “non-essential” diplomatic personnel from its embassies in Iraq, Jordan and Bahrain.
Iran is continuing its strikes in the Gulf in retaliation for the US and Israeli attacks that began on Saturday. Two ballistic missiles were intercepted in Qatar, the ministry of Defence said on Monday night.
Attacks on Lebanon
Two data centres of Amazon Web Services, Amazon’s cloud subsidiary, in the United Arab Emirates have also been hit by drones. The strikes disrupted cloud services in certain regions of the Middle East. A branch in Bahrain was also damaged by a drone attack.
“These strikes have caused structural damage, disrupted power delivery to our infrastructure, and in some cases required fire suppression activities that resulted in additional water damage," Amazon said.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army (IDF) has confirmed that it has launched strikes on Tehran and the Lebanese capital Beirut. “The IDF is currently conducting simultaneous targeted strikes against military targets in Tehran and Beirut,” it said in a statement. The IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee said “a wave of extensive airstrikes” was under way.
Hezbollah announced that it had targeted three military bases in Israel in response to ongoing Israeli air strikes in Lebanon, particularly on its stronghold in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Plumes of smoke rise following explosions in Tehran, 2 March 2026 © PHOTO MAHSA / MEI / SIPA PRESS
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