U.S.-Iran war latest: Trump threatens to bomb Iran’s power plants and oil wells; U.S. crude surges past $100

Tensions between Iran and the U.S. are escalating. Trump threatens to bomb Iran’s oil and power facilities, pushing U.S. crude oil to surge past $100. The Taiwan stock market was hit in the aftermath, plunging by more than 400 points. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, while U.S. stocks and Bitcoin continued to fluctuate and trade sideways.

Latest developments in the Iran-U.S. conflict: Trump threatens to bomb Iran’s power plants and oil wells

The U.S.-Israeli coalition continues to carry out military operations against Iran. According to a report by《CNN》, U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened that if no agreement is reached and the Strait of Hormuz is opened, he will destroy Iran’s power plants and oil wells. Previously, he had said he was considering occupying Hark Island. Iran’s parliament approved charging tolls to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and banned the passage of U.S. and Israeli ships.

Israel’s military has also carried out a large-scale airstrike on Tehran, Iran’s capital, hitting 170 targets within 24 hours, including drone-engine manufacturing facilities and the Western military headquarters.

At the same time, in the Persian Gulf, an oil tanker carrying crude oil from Kuwait was struck by an Iranian drone, sparking a fire. In southern Lebanon, there was also an attack on peacekeeping forces, with three Indonesian soldiers killed. France called on the United Nations Security Council to convene an emergency meeting.

U.S. crude oil surges; Taiwan stocks fall again at the open

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil jumped 3% to nearly $106 per barrel, the first time since July 2022 that it broke above the $100 mark; Brent crude rose more than 2% to $115 per barrel, while gold prices held steady at around $4,500 per ounce.

Image source: Gold Price org

According to a report by《Central News Agency》, the Taiwan stock market at today’s early trading session was hit by multiple negative factors and fell by more than 400 points. At 9:10 a.m., the weighted index dropped 411 points to 32,106, testing and falling below support near the 32,192-point level of the seasonal line.

Among the three major high-weight stocks, TSMC showed relatively better resilience. After opening lower in the morning, it quickly turned positive, rising as much as 10 yuan to 1,790 yuan. DELTA fell as much as 70 yuan to 1,415 yuan. Hon Hai fell as much as 5 yuan to 189 yuan.

Trump’s threats could cross legal lines; military experts analyze the Iran-U.S. situation

In response to Trump’s remarks about attacking Iran’s infrastructure, experts expressed concerns.

David Michel, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that attacking desalination plants is a provocative escalation of the situation. Laurent Lambert, associate professor at the Doha Institute, warned that this would violate international law and could very likely constitute a war crime; the International Monetary Fund also warned that the war is driving global price increases and economic slowdown.

Regarding potential U.S. military action to land on Hark Island in Iran,《BBC》 interviewed multiple military experts.

Sidharth Kaushal, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, analyzed that the U.S. military would need to first clear mines and disable coastal missiles. Alessio Patalano from King’s College London said that occupying the island would make U.S. forces targets for Iranian missiles. Former U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Mark Cancian assessed that the air defense systems the U.S. has would be sufficient to deal with aerial threats.

Image source: commons.wikimedia, drawn by Goran_tek-en around the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened that if no agreement is reached and the Strait of Hormuz is opened, he will destroy Iran’s power plants and oil wells

The Federal Reserve stabilizes the market; high oil prices impact crypto and stocks

Meanwhile, in his latest speech at Harvard, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell eased the bond market’s anxiety about further interest-rate hikes.

Powell said the Federal Reserve is inclined to ignore short-term energy price fluctuations, focusing on maintaining stable inflation expectations and keeping interest rates unchanged. His remarks pushed government bond yields lower, U.S. 10-year Treasury yields fell to 4.35%, and 2-year yields to 3.83%, with the market’s expectation for interest-rate hikes in 2026 dropping to 5%.

• **Related report:**Powell’s Harvard speech: war impacts supply chains, maintains cautious monetary policy; U.S. bond yields fall

Despite the bond market stabilizing, the surge in crude oil continued to pressure stocks and cryptocurrencies. U.S. stocks opened higher but slid lower: the Nasdaq index fell 0.75%, the S&P 500 fell 0.4%, and the Dow barely rose 0.11%.

Bitcoin had fallen to $66,500, then edged back above $67,000 after Trump’s remarks, but recently overall it has still been moving between $65,000 and $70,000, maintaining choppy consolidation amid inflation and the shadow of geopolitics.

This article was generated by Crypto Agent compiling information from multiple parties, with proofreading and editing by《Crypto City》. It is still in training and may contain logical deviations or information errors. The content is for reference only and should not be considered investment advice.