The prices of precious metals continued to decline on Monday, with gold and silver plunging sharply amid rising inflation fears, elevated oil prices, and strengthening expectations of global rate hikes as the US-Israel conflict with Iran showed no signs of easing. Market participants will keep a close watch on key economic indicators for direction, including manufacturing and services PMI data from the US, as well as consumer sentiment figures and jobless claims. Gold lost 8.03% at 3:06 am ET, going for $4,137.87 per ounce, while silver fell by 9.16% and went for $61.89 per ounce. Platinum plunged 3.69% at 3:09 am ET to go for $1,879.17 per ounce, and palladium dropped 2.09% and sold for $1,384.26 per ounce.
IRGC vows to ‘completely’ shut Hormuz over US strike risk
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz would be fully shut if US threats to strike Iran’s power plants are carried out. A spokesperson said any attack would trigger immediate “punitive measures.” “The Strait of Hormuz will be completely closed and this strait will not be opened until our destroyed power plants are rebuilt,” they said. The statement outlined potential responses, including targeting Israeli energy and communication infrastructure, and striking regional companies with US ties. It also warned that power plants in countries hosting US bases could become “legitimate targets.” The IRGC said the strait remains under its control and open under specific conditions, but stressed it is prepared to escalate, vowing to defend national interests and disrupt US economic assets across West Asia and the Middle East.
Trump threatens to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants…….. Iran to hit US energy sites, plants if its own attacked
United States President Donald Trump threatened to “obliterate” Iranian power plants in case Tehran did not open the Strait of Hormuz “within 48 hours from this exact point in time.” Trump demanded that the strait be “fully open, without threat,” or Washington would start by destroying Iran’s “biggest” power plant “first.” His threat appeared to directly contradict his previous post on Truth Social in which he said the US “has blown Iran off of the map.” Tehran previously said it would retaliate if its energy infrastructure came under attack.
NN: This is an example of a bombastic blowoff. Blasting the grid only hurts the little people. The military and ruling elite all have generators. Trump needs to concentrate is the Straights and Kharg island. This at some point starts to restore oil and distillates to the market and cuts Iran’s cashflow. Time scale 6 to 12 months. Between now and them a lot of damage to oil infrastructure. And $150 to $200 oil.
Iran to hit US energy sites, plants if its own attacked
The Iranian army spokesperson warned that Iran would retaliate against all US and Israeli energy infrastructure across the Middle East, including information technology systems and desalination plants, shortly after US President Donald Trump’s threat to “obliterate” Iranian power plants. Trump gave Tehran an ultimatum to lift the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, or the US would target Iran’s largest power plant first. The latest turn of events seems to point to a sharp escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. It comes shortly after Iran launched missile attacks on Israel’s infrastructure, including a strike in the vicinity of the Dimona nuclear research center.
US, Israel strike Iran’s Natanz nuclear site
The Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (FEP) in central Iran was struck in an air attack carried out by the United States and Israel on Saturday morning, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency and the official Mizan agency. The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) later said no radioactive material leaked and nearby residents were not in danger. The attack followed Iran’s overnight missile launch aimed at a joint US-United Kingdom base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Natanz is Iran’s primary uranium enrichment site and has already been the target of an attack early in March.
US Sending Boots To Iran… Trump Fake Out
Israel and Iran attacked each other on Saturday as the U.S. was sending thousands more Marines to the Middle East and President Donald Trump accused NATO allies of cowardice over their reluctance to help open the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel also attacked Beirut, saying it was targeting Hezbollah as it steps up airstrikes targeting the Iran-backed Lebanese militia in the deadliest spillover from the war on Iran since Hezbollah fired on Israel in support of Tehran on March 2.
More than 2,000 people have been killed since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, while Americans appear increasingly concerned at signs the war could expand further as it enters its fourth week. Vital energy infrastructure in Iran and neighbouring Gulf states has been attacked, sending oil prices up 50% and threatening global economic shock. Israel said Saturday’s attacks on Iran included Tehran, Karaj west of the capital and the central city of Isfahan. Iran fired two ballistic missiles at the U.S.-British military base Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, demonstrating the reach of its weaponry, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. The Wall Street Journal said two intermediate-range ballistic missiles were launched but did not hit the base. Natural gas prices in Europe surged as much as 35% this week as Iran and Israel hit some of the region’s most important gas infrastructure. The EU urged members to lower gas-storage targets and start refilling reserves gradually to curb demand, the Financial Times reported on Saturday. The Strait of Hormuz, conduit for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, has been effectively closed to most shipping. Trump on Friday called U.S. allies “cowards” for not helping open the strait. Several allies, who were not consulted before the war, have pledged to join “appropriate efforts” to ensure safe passage through the strait, but Germany and France have said fighting must stop first. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he would speak to Trump this weekend. Three U.S. officials told Reuters on Friday that 2,500 Marines, along with the amphibious assault ship Boxer and accompanying warships, would deploy to the region, although they did not say what their role would be.
Sources reveal that possible targets could include Iran’s coast or Kharg Island oil export hub. Trump said on Thursday he was “not putting troops anywhere”, when asked about his plans, adding, “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you.”
Pentagon said to prepare for ground troops in Iran
The United States Department of Defense is making “detailed” preparations for a possible deployment of American ground troops into Iran, CBS News reported on Friday, citing multiple sources familiar with the discussions. According to the report, senior military officials offered specific requests for the preparation of ground troops, with those plans involving the US Army’s Global Response Force and the Marine Corps’ Marine Expeditionary Unit. The report also echoed previous reports of about 2,200 Marines from the expeditionary unit being moved to the Midle East, along with three warships. “It’s the job of the Pentagon to make preparations in order to give the Commander in Chief maximum optionality, it does not mean the President has made a decision, and as the President said in the Oval Office yesterday, he is not planning to send ground troops anywhere at this time,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
NN: There will be boots on the ground Lots of them. In about 3 weeks. They are on the way.
US said to send 2,500 more troops to Middle East
The United States is sending three warships and 2,200 to 2,500 additional troops to the Middle East, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. US officials familiar with the matter said the troops are Marines from the California-based USS Boxer amphibious ready group and 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the Iran operation will be completed “soon,” claiming that it is currently “ahead of schedule.” He also repeated that he does not plan to invade Iran. According to the US Central Command, around 50,000 troops are already in the region.
NN: Done deal, the US will be taking Kharg Island. Where Iran exports his oil from
BAD DAY TO BE IN IRAN
A coalition of nations aimed at ensuring the safe passage of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz grows as War Secretary Pete Hegseth details the ‘largest strike package of the war so far.’
Netanyahu UPDATE on Iran war, Trump, takes questions
US could occupy Iran’s Kharg Island….Soon!
The Trump administration is considering plans for an occupation or blockade of Iran’s Kharg Island, Axios reported on Friday. The island is crucial to Iran’s energy trade, with up to 90% of the country’s energy exports passing through the island’s terminal. According to the report, the US aims to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for oil from the Persian Gulf. A source said that the US military needs “about a month to weaken the Iranians more with strikes” before a potential occupation of the island, as Kharg is within reach of the Iranian mainland, which would put US assets in danger. An unnamed US official said the administration is also considering sending more Marines to the Middle East, but has not made a decision on a possible coastal invasion.