WS #12398

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate, with the US launching an eighth consecutive night of airstrikes against Iran, targeting coastal surveillance, air defense, and missile storage sites near the Strait of Hormuz. This follows Iranian attacks that killed two US service members in Jordan. The Guardian and multiple sources confirm the strikes, which are designed to 'swiftly punish' Iran and 'further degrade' its ability to threaten commercial shipping. Iran's supreme leader warned Washington would pay for escalation. Oil prices are rising, with Brent crude up ~12% this week, impacting energy stocks positively and airlines negatively. The Ukraine-Russia war also saw a massive ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, with Russia launching approximately 40 ballistic missiles in the largest such attack since the start of the war, killing at least one and injuring 15. Ukrainian drones struck oil depots in Russia's Stavropol Krai and a Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal near Novorossiysk, damaging two tankers. The dominant theme is US-Iran escalation, which is ESCALATING. Apple is reportedly using Intel's US fabs to circumvent 100% chip tariffs, a potential positive for AAPL and INTC. Tesla plans to expand production at its German plant, hiring 3,500 new workers, signaling strong demand. The EU and GCC jointly rejected any restrictions on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a counter-signal to the oil supply disruption thesis.