The Iran war hampers Europe's natural gas replenishment, raising concerns over lagging storage progress.

(1) The Iran war has driven up natural gas prices, making Europe's efforts to replenish its winter reserves significantly more difficult, and squeezing the profit margins for traders who buy and store gas. (2) The conflict has severely disrupted LNG transportation through the Strait of Hormuz (which previously carried about 20% of global liquefied natural gas flows), while Iran's attacks have destroyed 17% of Qatar's LNG export capacity. (3) Since the outbreak of the war, European gas prices have soared by over 70%; currently, the EU’s gas storage facilities are only about 52% filled, with the injection rate lower than last year at this time and the average rates for the past 10 summer seasons, raising market concerns that some countries may not meet their storage targets.