WS #11652

The US-Iran conflict has escalated sharply in the last 30 minutes, with multiple cross-source confirmations of new military strikes and threats. The US conducted new strikes against Iran following attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump declared the ceasefire "over" at the NATO summit, stating the US will "probably hit them hard again tonight." Iran retaliated by launching ballistic missiles at US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, and its Press TV cited a security source saying Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz in the event of any fresh attacks and will strike enemy targets at a ratio of at least two to one. The US military is reportedly ready to restart a blockade of Iranian ports. This represents a significant escalation from the previous stable-but-elevated tension level, now moving into active military exchanges with direct threats to the world's most critical oil chokepoint. Oil prices have surged, with WTI up over 5% and Brent up over 5.6%, and energy stocks are trading higher. The Nikkei 225 fell 2.11% on the news. Separately, Russia's Novak confirmed gasoline production cuts and a diesel export ban due to terror attacks on energy facilities, adding to global fuel supply concerns. In a potential counter-signal to the broader tech selloff, China plans to let top AI firms (Alibaba, ByteDance, DeepSeek) buy limited amounts of NVIDIA H200 chips, which could support NVDA and Chinese tech names. Apple announced a $30B+ multiyear deal with Broadcom for US-made wireless chips, boosting AVGO. The dominant narrative is ESCALATING.