The Iran war just became everyone’s economic nightmare. As Operation Epic Fury enters its 10th day on Monday, the conflict has blown past the borders of Iran and Israel — crashing global stock markets, sending oil prices to pandemic-era highs, and drawing at least nine countries into a widening cycle of strikes and retaliation that shows no signs of stopping.
Here’s what you need to know about the most dangerous day yet in the 2026 Iran crisis.
Global Markets Meltdown: Worst Day Since COVID
Monday morning was a bloodbath on trading floors from Tokyo to London.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged more than 5% in a single session — its worst drop since the pandemic panic of 2020. Asian and European markets followed suit in a broad sell-off driven by one thing: oil.
Brent crude prices briefly spiked to nearly $120 per barrel, their highest level since COVID lockdowns first disrupted global supply chains. As of Monday morning, crude was still trading above $110, with Goldman Sachs warning that prices could reach $150 per barrel by month’s end if the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.
The numbers are staggering: roughly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil and natural gas supply has been suspended since the conflict began on February 28. Hundreds of tankers sit idle near the strait after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to “set ablaze” any vessel attempting to transit the vital waterway.
Back in the United States, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline has already jumped nearly 27 cents in just one week, hitting $3.25 — and analysts say that’s just the beginning.
Iran Strikes Across Nine Countries — From Riyadh to Abu Dhabi
While much of the world focuses on the airstrikes hammering Tehran, Iran has been punching back — hard — across an unprecedented geographic span.
Iranian missiles, drones, and ballistic weapons have now struck targets in nine countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel. It’s the widest-ranging Iranian military retaliation in history.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry confirmed it had intercepted Iranian drones targeting the massive Shaybah oil field in the Rub’ al Khali desert — one of the kingdom’s most important crude production sites. Additional drones were shot down over northern Riyadh, the capital, and three ballistic missiles were intercepted near a Saudi air base.
In Abu Dhabi, two people were injured after missile debris fell in two locations on Day 10 of the war. The UAE has so far avoided catastrophic damage, but the threat to Gulf oil infrastructure is escalating daily.
The State Department has ordered all non-emergency U.S. government employees to leave Saudi Arabia — a clear signal that Washington expects the Gulf to remain a danger zone for the foreseeable future.
Hezbollah Opens a Second Front — 500,000 Displaced in Lebanon
The conflict expanded to Lebanon after Hezbollah’s secretary-general Naim Qassem vowed to “undertake our duty of confronting the aggression” following the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening strikes on February 28.
Hezbollah has launched multiple attacks against Israeli military sites and northern cities, including the Misgav logistics base. Israel’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir warned that Hezbollah would “continue to pay a heavy price” for attacking Israel.
Airstrikes between Hezbollah and Israel resumed on March 2, shattering the fragile 2024 ceasefire. Lebanon’s government says over 517,000 people have been displaced in just one week of fighting — and the actual number is likely higher, as many haven’t registered on the government portal.
The Lebanon front is exactly what military analysts feared: a multi-front war that stretches Israeli and American resources across the entire Middle East.
Mojtaba Khamenei Named Supreme Leader — Iran Signals Defiance
In a move that directly defied President Trump’s public warning, Iran’s Assembly of Experts named Mojtaba Khamenei — the son of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — as Iran’s new supreme leader on Sunday.
Trump had declared Mojtaba an “unacceptable choice,” and Israel has vowed to hunt down Khamenei’s successor just as it targeted his father. But Iran’s IRGC immediately pledged “complete obedience” to the new leader, and the country’s military and hardline political forces rallied around the appointment.
Not everyone in Iran is on board, though. In Tehran, residents could be heard chanting “Death to Mojtaba” from their windows — a sign of the deep internal divisions that the war has failed to suppress. Iran’s opposition sees the dynastic succession as proof that the regime cares more about consolidating power than protecting its people from the devastating airstrikes.
Iran has flatly ruled out an immediate ceasefire, signaling this war is far from over.
Seven Americans Dead — U.S. Casualty Toll Climbing
The Pentagon confirmed Sunday that a seventh U.S. service member has died during Operation Epic Fury. The soldier, who was seriously wounded during an Iranian attack on U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1, passed away from injuries sustained in the strike.
Six of the seven American casualties came from a single devastating incident: an Iranian drone strike on the 103rd Sustainment Command in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, also on March 1. Their remains were returned to Dover Air Force Base on March 7 in a solemn dignified transfer ceremony.
Approximately a dozen more U.S. troops remain wounded from the initial Iranian counterattacks. While American casualties are low compared to the scale of the operation — which the Pentagon calls the biggest U.S. military campaign since the 2003 Iraq invasion — the numbers are climbing, and each death increases political pressure on the Trump administration.
Oil Infrastructure Under Siege — On Both Sides
The economic warfare dimension of this conflict is intensifying. On March 7-8, the U.S. and Israel expanded their target list to include Iranian oil production for the first time, striking two oil refineries and two oil storage facilities inside Iran. Toxic smoke from burning fuel depots has blanketed parts of Tehran.
Meanwhile, Iran’s retaliatory strikes have targeted oil infrastructure across the Gulf. Oil storage facilities in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait are reaching capacity limits — meaning that if crude can’t be exported through the Strait of Hormuz, large oilfields may need to be physically shut down.
Goldman Sachs has warned that without a resolution to the Hormuz crisis, oil could hit $150 a barrel within weeks. Reuters reports that the conflict could encourage countries to rebuild strategic petroleum reserves even after hostilities end, keeping prices elevated for months or years.
Economists are now openly using the word “stagflation” — the toxic combination of stagnant economic growth and rising prices that defined the 1970s oil crises. Central banks that were planning interest rate cuts have frozen their plans, and some may be forced to hike rates again just as the global economy weakens.
No Off-Ramps in Sight
Perhaps the most alarming aspect of Day 10 is the complete absence of diplomatic movement.
CNN reports that while Iranian intelligence has sent messages through back channels, U.S. officials say there are no negotiations underway and that potential “off-ramps” are unlikely to materialize in the near term. Trump’s demands have shifted repeatedly — from destroying Iran’s nuclear program, to regime change, to Iran’s “unconditional surrender” — leaving analysts struggling to identify what would actually end the war.
Reuters notes that Trump “has struggled to articulate a detailed set of objectives or a clear endgame” for Operation Epic Fury. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly pushed back, saying the president’s goals are clear: “Destroy Iran’s ballistic missiles and production capacity, demolish their navy, end their ability to arm proxies, and prevent them from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon.”
But with the war spreading across the region, global markets in freefall, and American casualties mounting, the question isn’t just whether those goals are achievable — it’s whether the costs of achieving them will be sustainable.
What Comes Next?
Day 10 of Operation Epic Fury has made one thing clear: this war is no longer just about Iran. It’s about the global economy. It’s about the stability of every oil-producing nation in the Persian Gulf. It’s about whether the Middle East is heading for a conflict that makes the Iraq War look contained.
With Mojtaba Khamenei defiant, Hezbollah fighting in Lebanon, oil approaching $120 a barrel, and no diplomacy in sight, the trajectory is escalation — not resolution.
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