rss-bridge 2026-03-01T16:56:30+00:00

U.S.-Israel strikes Iran: What we know as markets brace for turmoil

The Middle East has been thrust into a widening conflict, causing investors to brace for risk-off trades once markets reopen.

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U.S.-Israel strikes Iran: What we know as markets brace for turmoil

Anniek Bao @in/anniek-bao-460a48107/@anniekbyx

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Key Points

The Middle East has been thrust into a widening conflict, causing investors to brace for risk-off trades once markets reopen.
The U.S. and Israel attacked Iranian targets over the weekend, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Iran retaliated with an unprecedented wave of strikes across the Middle East, targeting several nearby countries that host U.S. military bases, as well as Israel.

In this article

JERUSALEM - FEBRUARY 28: People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks, in Jerusalem on February 28, 2026.

Mostafa Alkharouf | Anadolu | Getty Images

The U.S. and Israel launched their most aggressive attack ever on Iranian targets over the weekend that killed the Islamic state's longtime supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, thrusting the region into a widening conflict as Tehran retaliates with air strikes across the Middle East.

Here's what we know so far as investors brace for impacts when markets open after the weekend.

Iranian Supreme Leader killed

Iran's state media announced Khamenei's death early Sunday.

Trump, making the biggest foreign-policy gamble of his presidency ahead of the mid-term election in November, called the killing "the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their Country."

Trump also warned on Truth Social that the "heavy and pinpoint bombing will continue, uninterrupted throughout the week or, as long as necessary to achieve our objective of PEACE THROUGH THE MIDDLE EAST AND INDEED, THE WORLD!"

The president had stated on Saturday that the aggressive strikes were aimed at ending a decades-long threat from Iran and ensuring it could not develop a nuclear weapon.

Missiles fired at Gulf states

Iran retaliated with an unprecedented wave of strikes across the Middle East, targeting several nearby countries that host U.S. military bases, as well as Israel.

In Israel, sirens and mobile-phone warnings sent people rushing to air raid shelters as Iran launched a series of missile barrages that were mostly intercepted.

Blasts were reported in the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, with footage showing people fleeing a smoke-filled passageway at Dubai International Airport.

Drone strikes have caused damage and injuries at Dubai International Airport and Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi.

It comes after the Iranian foreign ministry, in a statement Saturday, said the country "will not hesitate" in its response to the U.S.-led strikes. Separately, a spokesperson for Iranian armed forces reportedly warned that "we will teach Israel and the U.S. a lesson that they have never experienced in their history."

In a Truth Social post Sunday, meanwhile, Trump warned Tehran against further retaliatory moves, threatening to "HIT THEM WITH A FORCE THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE" if Iran continued to strike.

Market hedges

Investors are braced for risk-off trades once markets reopen after the weekend, with potential gains expected in so-called safe-haven assets like the U.S. dollar and gold, while equities could pull back.

Offering some indication of how markets could respond, on crypto-exchange Hyperliquid, which allows 24/7 trading, perpetual swap futures tied to oil jumped nearly 5% to $71.7 per barrel, while those for gold rose roughly 1.2% to $5,334 per troy ounce.

Bitcoin was rattled in the hours immediately after the bombing began on Saturday before recouping some of the losses to finish the day 1.8% higher at $66,725. The cryptocurrency slipped to $66,325 as of 4:48 a.m. EST on Sunday.

Oil moves

Oil market participants have been closely watching the conflict,which risks a major oil supply shock in the Middle East.

Bob McNally, a former White House energy advisor to former President George W. Bush, predicted crude future prices could rise by $5 to $7 per barrel when trading opens at 6 p.m. ET Sunday, if there is no sign of de-escalation.

Brent crude

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Original source

U.S.-Israel strikes Iran: What we know as markets brace for turmoil

U.S.-Israel strikes Iran: What we know as markets brace for turmoil

Iranian Supreme Leader killed

Read more U.S.-Iran news

Missiles fired at Gulf states

Market hedges

Oil moves