Bengaluru, Reuters — Stock markets in the United Arab Emirates fell on Monday after Iran warned it would strike energy and water infrastructure across the Gulf if U.S. President Donald Trump carried out his threat to attack Iran’s electricity grid.
Trump on Saturday threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, a sharp escalation coming a day after he spoke of “winding down” the war, now in its fourth week.
After more than three weeks of intense U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that have degraded Iran’s missile production and launch capabilities, Tehran has shown it retains retaliatory capacity. The regional conflict has pushed energy prices higher, disrupted air travel and hit shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Dubai’s main index dropped 2.7% in early trade, weighed by a 4.6% fall in blue-chip developer Emaar Properties and a 2.9% decline in top lender Emirates NBD Bank. Abu Dhabi’s benchmark slipped 1.6%, with real estate giant Aldar Properties down 5% and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank off 4.9%.
Abu Dhabi-listed water and power firm TAQA fell 3.6%, while Dubai Electricity and Water Authority was down 0.8%.
Adnoc Gas slid 2.7% after the company said it had made temporary adjustments to production of liquefied natural gas and export-traded liquids in response to ongoing shipping disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. “Operations are continuing safely across ADNOC Gas plc’s asset base,” the company said. “Following debris falling near certain facilities, inspections confirmed no injuries and no impact to core processing integrity.”
Year-to-date, the Dubai index’s losses widened to 10.7% and Abu Dhabi’s to 5.9%, LSEG data showed.
