WS #9497

The US-Iran conflict narrative is ESCALATING with new developments: Trump claims a secret mission escorted oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, allowing 100M+ barrels to market, and warns of new strikes. Iran rejects trilateral talks, claims maximum readiness, and says no 'red lines' remain. A key counter-signal emerged: Energy Secretary Wright admitted a prior claim about Navy escorting an oil tanker was false and said he is 'unaware' of the US taking out Iranian oil, opening an administration split that dampens the bullish oil narrative. The US released 40M barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, adding supply. Separately, SMCI is getting crushed -25% on plans to raise $7B for AI demand, triggering dilution fears. The tech selloff is in full force with NVDA/AMD/AVGO/MU down 3-4.8%, TSLA -3.7%, AMZN/META -2.1-2.5%, while energy and staples hold green. Oracle won a US government contract for a cloud-based HR platform. Visa partnered with OpenAI for agentic commerce. Major US banks face federal probe over debanking allegations. SpaceX IPO faces pushback from Elizabeth Warren to SEC to postpone. Cracker Barrel stock surged 30% on AI deployment plans. The US-Iran narrative is ESCALATING, but the administration split and SPR release are notable counter-signals.