US Military Launches Third Wave of Strikes Against Iran
The US military has launched a third wave of attacks against Iran, targeting air defense, radar, and military facilities, as a continued response to Iran's previous missile retaliation.
This operation continues the pattern of precise strikes from the first two waves, further weakening Iran's defense and surveillance capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding areas, aiming to maintain freedom of navigation and deterrence balance in the region.
In market mechanisms, the escalation of conflict has intensified risk aversion, leading to capital inflows into oil prices, gold, and defense stocks. The risks to energy shipping routes have increased freight costs, benefiting global energy producers and military enterprises, while putting pressure on Asian economies and risk assets that rely on Middle Eastern crude oil and shipping.
Source: Public Information
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The US military had previously conducted two limited strikes against Iran's air defense radar. This third wave continues the approach of gradually escalating precise responses to maintain deterrence following the Strait of Hormuz incident. Similar limited target strikes were employed during the tense periods of 2019-2020 to avoid full-scale war.
In terms of capital strategy, the US is mobilizing resources from Central Command and coordinating with allies to convert multiple military actions into long-term pressure on Iran. This move protects key oil shipping routes and provides practical justification for further shifts in the defense budget towards precision-guided and unmanned systems, while guiding energy capital to hedge against geopolitical risks in advance.
Following the precise response to Soleimani in 2020, a controllable cycle has emerged. The US is currently in a phase of transitioning from localized confrontations in the Middle East to sustained deterrence, using the third wave of strikes to strengthen expectations of regional power balance.
Essentially, this reflects regulatory changes and capital concentration: multiple rounds of air defense strikes directly weaken Iran's regional control capabilities. By escalating responses, it accelerates the shift of global energy and defense capital from high-risk Middle Eastern exposure towards diversified supply chains and military platforms, reshaping oil pricing power and international shipping security structures under geopolitical conflict.
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The more response waves there are, the harder it is to break the deterrence cycle.
The higher the shipping route risks, the more concentrated energy capital becomes in hedging.
The longer the limited escalation lasts, the more the window for full-scale conflict is compressed.