The conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran entered this Wednesday into a phase that analysts had been pointing out for weeks as the most dangerous for the global economy: the war of energy infrastructures.
Israeli forces attacked facilities of the South Pars gas field, on the Iranian coast of Bushehr province, the largest natural gas field in the world.
Hours later, Iran responded with a ballistic missile attack against the Ras Laffan facilities, in Qatar, one of the planet's main liquefied gas export hubs. The South Pars gas field, shared with Qatar under the name North Dome on the Qatari side, is the world's largest natural gas reserve.
The Israeli offensive against South Pars and the Iranian retaliation on the Ras Laffan facilities in Qatar shoot up the price of gas by 6% in Europe and open a new phase of the conflict. In parallel, in Madrid, the Government chose that same Wednesday to pressure the president of Indra, the main national defense champion.
Energy pressure on the new war escalation
The attacks by the United States -which has subsequently distanced itself- and Israel on Iran and the Iranian retaliations on the Gulf countries have disrupted the exports of oil and natural gas from the Middle East, forcing production shutdowns.
The markets' reaction was immediate. The price of European natural gas rose 6% on Wednesday, Brent crude advanced 3.8% to 107 dollars and West Texas Intermediate touched 98.60 dollars. An Israeli official confirmed to the Jerusalem Post that the attack was coordinated and approved by the Trump Administration, although its objective was to send a signal to Iran: if it continues to cause disruptions in the oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz, the escalation in the attack on its energy facilities could go further. “It was a signal of what could come,” the official said.
However, Donald Trump tried to partially distance himself. In a message on Truth Social, the US president assured that Israel acted “moved by anger” and that neither the United States nor Qatar participated in the offensive. At the same time, he launched a direct threat to Tehran: if Iran continues with its reprisals, the United States “is going to massively explode the entire South Pars gas field with a force and power that Iran has never seen”. Iran did not wait.
Extreme risk for Europe
Iranian authorities threatened to attack energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, pointing to five specific targets: the SAMREF refinery and the Jubail petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia, the Al Hosn gas field in the UAE, and the Ras Laffan refinery and the Mesaieed petrochemical complex in Qatar. Shortly after, Qatari authorities confirmed a fire in Ras Laffan after the impact of an Iranian missile, although they managed to control it. Iraq reported an interruption of Iranian gas supply after the attack on South Pars.
Iran supplies between 30 and 40% of Iraq's electricity and gas needs, and diverted the flow to domestic consumption after the blow to its facilities.
The shared nature of the field introduces additional risks. The Qatari North Dome sustains a significant portion of the global LNG supply to Europe and Asia. Instability on the Iranian side introduces uncertainty about the management of the field, operational security, and contagion effects. Emmanuel Macron has reported that he held a conversation with Trump in which both discussed the possibility of a moratorium to protect power and water plants from new attacks.
And in Spain, political pressure on Indra
In this context of military and energy escalation, the Spanish Government chose the same Wednesday night to send a statement to the CNMV conditioning either the merger between Indra and Escribano Mechanical & Engineering (EM&E) the saida of the company's executive president, Ángel Escribano.
Both options, in addition to the delicate geopolitical moment, are strategically unviable, both due to the sum of insutrial capabilities that EM&E provides for Indra's ascent to European champion status and Spain's reindustrialization needs in this sector, as well as due to the results achieved dirante Escribano's presidency: Indra closed 2025 with a profit of 436 million euros, 57% more than the previous year, and an order book that has more than doubled to 16,083 million, driven by contracts from the Ministry of Defense's Special Modernization Programs.
In addition, the company has just signed a strategic agreement with the German Diehl Defence to develop medium-range air defense systems for the Spanish Armed Forces, and participates in critical European programs such as FCAS.
The activist fund Third Point, which has recently entered Indra's capital, already warned SEPI that continued delays in the operation are becoming a distraction at a key strategic moment, and that they could erode the company's stock market value.
In this context, various experts agree that the current environment -marked by the escalation in the Middle East and the increase in defense spending in Europe- reduces the margin for movements that could introduce uncertainty in companies considered strategic.