WS #12449

The US-Iran conflict continues to escalate with the IRGC claiming to have downed a third U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone in 24 hours, and a US service member was killed in Iraq by an Iranian drone. This marks an intensification of hostilities, with no signs of de-escalation. Separately, Ukraine struck a Wildberries distribution center near Moscow and continued long-range strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, adding to geopolitical risk. The FDA confirmed the Taylor Farms cyclospora test was a false positive, removing a food safety overhang. Andy Burnham is set to become UK PM on Monday, a political transition that may have limited near-term market impact. Asia stocks were mixed as investors reassess AI bets. Allbridge Core suffered a $1.65M flash loan exploit, a minor crypto event. The dominant narrative remains the escalating US-Iran conflict, which is bullish for oil and defense, bearish for risk assets.