WS #8883

The Iran-US conflict continues to escalate with new military exchanges: Iran launched ballistic missiles at US bases in Kuwait and Bahrain, and the US struck Qeshm Island. Bahrain, Kuwait, and UAE closed airspace. The IRGC claimed a US strike on an Iranian oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran responded by targeting a US-Israeli vessel. This confirms the narrative arc is ESCALATING. Separately, the St. Petersburg oil terminal fire from Ukrainian drone strikes persists, with 29 flights delayed at Pulkovo airport, adding to Russia-Ukraine escalation. In markets, Bitcoin's fear gauge surged 20%, the biggest jump since Feb 5 crash, signaling renewed fear. XOS stock surged 221% after-hours on energy storage launch. SpaceX is reportedly eyeing a record $75B IPO at $135/share. GameStop reported strong FQ1 earnings and approved a $20B share buyback. DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, is pursuing $7.4B funding at $52B-$59B valuation. Inditex reported Q1 net profit €1.38B, sales up 11.5% in constant currency. Google faces UK conduct requirements. The dominant themes are Iran war escalation (bearish for risk assets, bullish for oil/defense), crypto fear (bearish for BTC), and AI capex (bullish for NVDA, tech).