The market feels off, so I had to look into the situation in Iran. The Iranian government is elected, but the president only handles the economy, healthcare, transportation, infrastructure, and monetary policy. The Supreme Leader, Khamenei, oversees the military, media, and judiciary, but he doesn’t hold any official position in the government. Khamenei has been assassinated. The government and the younger generation lean pro-America. However, the military, media, and judiciary are filled with strong feelings of revenge. There’s a deep-rooted tradition of martyrdom and going down together, so fierce retaliation is inevitable. Among the military, there’s the regular army and the Revolutionary Guard, with the Revolutionary Guard being even more vengeful. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is a major driver of financial crises. The U.S. targeting Venezuela and Iran is essentially about trying to bring oil prices down. Lower oil prices reduce inflation and pave the way for rate cuts. That’s why the market saw a strong rebound on Monday. But if the Strait of Hormuz gets blocked, it’ll have the opposite effect, pushing oil prices and inflation rates up. Inflation is the real Achilles’ heel of the U.S. economy. The market would drop, and we’d see the rare phenomenon of both gold and U.S. stocks taking a hit. This kind of market behavior is rare and usually precedes an economic crisis. I’m not an expert in this area, so I hope to hear more diverse perspectives and constructive criticism.