WS #8010

The US-Iran military escalation narrative continues to ESCALATE sharply. Multiple independent sources confirm Iran's Armed Forces have entered their highest state of alert, with Iranian state media reporting this directly. Iran's Civil Aviation Authority has closed nearly all western Tehran airports May 22-25, limiting operations to sunrise-to-sunset commercial only. The Trump administration is preparing fresh military strikes against Iran, with US military and intelligence personnel canceling weekend plans and the Pentagon updating recall rosters. Qatar's delegation has been ordered out of Iran ahead of their scheduled Sunday departure. These developments represent a significant escalation beyond the previous ceasefire frame, with direct implications for oil prices, energy stocks, and broader market risk sentiment. Separately, a drone attack has triggered a fire at an oil terminal in Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, adding to energy supply disruption concerns. Insider selling at CVX (380K shares by insider John B. Hess) and WMT (two executives sold shares) are notable but secondary signals. The Iran narrative dominates and is the primary market-moving signal, with oil price spike implications for energy (bullish) and airlines/consumer (bearish).