Iran Tensions Spark European Gas Price Surge

European gas prices have risen by as much as 4.9% after Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian set tough preconditions for talks with Washington at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The Iranian President said Tehran would not allow freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz as long as sanctions and a U.S. blockade remain, cutting against tentative diplomatic progress earlier in the week.

The thin flow of Middle Eastern liquefied natural gas (LNG) forces Europe to compete harder with Asia for scarce global supply.