"It is easy to see all the concerns right now, with a totally chaotic situation in the entire region, with spillover effects in the other Gulf states and with enormous price effects on energy, oil and gas in Europe," Kristersson says upon arriving at a summit of EU heads of state and government in Brussels on Thursday.
There are big risks in this.
Just hours earlier, twin attacks on gas facilities in Qatar, reportedly carried out with Iranian missiles, took place. The attacks, which caused large fires, pose a "direct threat" to national security, according to Qatar’s Ministry of Defense.
Blow up the whole thing?
Iran has attacked gas facilities in several countries around the Persian Gulf in response to Israel's attack on Iran's massive South Pars gas field, which, along with Qatar's adjacent North Dome, makes up the world's largest natural gas field.
The development has angered US President Donald Trump, who has warned on social media that the US could "blow the whole thing up," with or without Israel's involvement, if Iran attacks Qatari facilities again.
“I do not want to condone this level of violence and destruction because of the long-term impact it will have on Iran's future, but if Qatar's liquefied natural gas facilities are attacked again, I will not hesitate to do so,” he writes on Truth Social.
In the post, Trump also writes that the United States was not informed about Israel's attack on the gas field in Iran, and that "very innocent" Qatar was not involved.
More attacks
The crisis in the Middle East is high on the agenda at the EU summit. Kristersson notes that the possibilities for the EU to act diplomatically are limited, but points out that Sweden has been relatively spared from the crisis on the economic front.
"We are less dependent on gas prices in particular than many other countries. We have our own electricity system," he says.
On Thursday, drone strikes on oil refineries in Kuwait resulted in fires. The United Arab Emirates halted operations at a gas facility due to falling rocket shrapnel after an attack blamed on Iran. And Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan strongly criticized Iran's attacks.
"The little trust that existed before is completely gone," he says, according to AP.
Facts: Natural gas in Iran
More than 70 percent of Iran's energy comes from natural gas, according to the government.
The country has the second largest natural gas reserves in the world, after Russia. Most of the fields are located in the southern parts of the country and in the Persian Gulf.
Most of the production is consumed domestically, but Iran also exports gas, primarily to Iraq and Turkey.
