US and Iran Exchange Strikes in Escalating Conflict

The US military carried out fresh strikes inside Iran in response to attacks on commercial shipping near the Strait of Hormuz, including a drone strike on a crude tanker . Iran's Revolutionary Guard retaliated with missile and drone strikes on US military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain .

President Trump publicly threatened to "complete the job," and Iranian officials signaled the exchange effectively ends near-term negotiations . The escalation revives concerns about the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint for a significant share of global seaborne oil, where tanker traffic has already been disrupted.

For markets, the key transmission channel is energy: renewed Hormuz risk can drive oil-price volatility and broader risk-off sentiment, with knock-on effects for airlines, shippers, and energy producers. Crude benchmarks, shipping-insurance rates, and any signs of a return to diplomacy, which would ease the risk premium, are the things to watch.