Trump Pledges 'Epic Fury' on Iran; Oil Jumps 6%, Stocks Sink
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- Trump declared in a Wednesday national address that the U.S. will hit Iran 'extremely hard' over the next two to three weeks, naming the operation 'Epic Fury' and threatening to 'bring them back to the stone ages.'
- Iran's Foreign Ministry responded Thursday that the nation is 'absolutely determined and resolute' and has 'no choice but to fight back fiercely' against the aggression.
- Oil prices spiked after the speech, with Brent crude jumping 6.7% to $107.92 a barrel and WTI rising 6.2% to $106.39, as analysts warned of potential damage to Gulf energy infrastructure.
- South Korea's Kospi plunged 5.5% in a sharp reversal of earlier gains, leading losses across Asian benchmarks in Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, and mainland China.
- The U.S. Navy deployed a third aircraft carrier—the USS George H.W. Bush—to the region alongside the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford, undercutting Trump's claim that the mission is 'almost accomplished.'
- Trump claimed Iran's 'New Regime President' requested a ceasefire—a claim Tehran denied—saying the U.S. will only consider it once the Strait of Hormuz is 'open, free, and clear.'
- Global bond markets sold off as the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield climbed 5 basis points to 4.368% and Japan's benchmark 10-year rose 8 basis points to 2.384%.
Why it matters: The gap between Trump's 'mission almost accomplished' rhetoric and his deployment of a third carrier has opened a credibility chasm that markets are pricing in immediately. With Brent crude up 6.7% and sovereign bond yields rising across at least seven developed economies, energy importers and equity holders are absorbing real costs from escalation rhetoric—not just from confirmed strikes.
