Saturday’s US strikes on Iran are expected to push oil prices as higher as markets react to uncertainty about further escalation

Previous tensions in the Middle East, including flareups into all-out war, have seen stocks fall and then reach new highs within months

Saturday’s US strikes on Iran are expected to push oil prices as higher as markets react to uncertainty about further escalation.

Trump’s attack on three key Iranian nuclear sites, which the President hailed as a “spectacular success,” has prompted fears of a selloff in stock markets and a rush for the dollar and various safe-haven assets, investors are warning; although they caution that much depends on Iran’s reaction.

“I think the markets are going to be initially alarmed, and I think oil will open higher,” said Mark Spindel, chief investment officer at Potomac River Capital.

“We don’t have any damage assessment and that will take some time. Even though he [Trump] has described this as ‘done,’ we’re engaged. What comes next?” Spindel said.

“I think the uncertainty is going to blanket the markets, as now Americans everywhere are going to be exposed. It’s going to raise uncertainty and volatility, particularly in oil.”

Reaction from markets in the Middle East, which opened today, has been calm however. Indexes in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were all up slightly this morning, and Israel’s Tel Aviv index was at an all-time high.

Many investors, like Jamie Cox at Harris Financial Group, are predicting that Iran will “likely hit the escape button to a peace deal” now that its nuclear capabilities have apparently been destroyed.

Still, if Iran targets US interests in the Middle East, including oil infrastructure in the crucial Strait of Hormuz, oil could reach $100 a barrel or more.

Previous tensions in the Middle East, including flareups into all-out war, have seen stocks fall and then reach new highs within months. That was the case in 2003 with the second Iraq War and in 2019 when Saudi oil facilities were attacked.

On Saturday, US B2 bombers attacked three nuclear sites in Iran, at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, after more than a week of uncertainty about US intentions following Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic-missile sites and senior military figures.

In a post on Truth Social last night, President Donald Trump congratulated the US military and said, “NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE.”