{"id":59526,"date":"2026-03-07T23:38:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T03:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/geopolitical-tensions-surge-irgc-strikes-us-assets-as-trump-weighs-nuclear-site-sabotage\/59526\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T23:38:28","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T03:38:28","slug":"geopolitical-tensions-surge-irgc-strikes-us-assets-as-trump-weighs-nuclear-site-sabotage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/geopolitical-tensions-surge-irgc-strikes-us-assets-as-trump-weighs-nuclear-site-sabotage\/59526\/","title":{"rendered":"Geopolitical Tensions Surge: IRGC Strikes US Assets as Trump Weighs Nuclear Site Sabotage"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>IRGC launches &quot;True Promise 4&quot; retaliatory strikes<\/strong> against 27 U.S. and Israeli locations, including the <strong>Al Udeid Air Base<\/strong> in Qatar, following the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/live\/trump-stock-market\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Trump\">Trump<\/a> administration considers Special Operations raids<\/strong> to seize and destroy Iranian nuclear facilities, specifically targeting the <strong>Isfahan<\/strong> complex.<\/li>\n<li><strong>U.S. Intelligence warns that Iran retains access<\/strong> to a stockpile of <strong>440kg of 60% enriched uranium<\/strong> buried in deep tunnels despite previous aerial bombardments.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issues a global warning<\/strong>, stating the U.S. will &quot;hunt down and kill&quot; anyone who threatens Americans anywhere in the world.<\/li>\n<li><strong>New FBI testimony alleges a cover-up<\/strong> in the 2019 death of Jeffrey Epstein, with an inmate claiming he overheard guards at the Metropolitan Correctional Center discussing the incident.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Middle East has entered a period of extreme volatility as the <strong>Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)<\/strong> launched a massive wave of retaliatory strikes against <strong>Israel<\/strong> and <strong>U.S. assets<\/strong>. The operation, dubbed <strong>&quot;True Promise 4,&quot;<\/strong> targeted 27 locations including major military installations in <strong>Qatar<\/strong>, <strong>Bahrain<\/strong>, and the <strong>UAE<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><em>Market analysts expect significant upward pressure on energy prices<\/em> as the conflict threatens critical shipping lanes in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>. Shares of major defense contractors like Lockheed Martin (<a href=\"\/stock\/LMT\">LMT<\/a>), Northrop Grumman (<a href=\"\/stock\/NOC\">NOC<\/a>), and RTX Corporation (<a href=\"\/stock\/RTX\">RTX<\/a>) are seeing increased trading volume as <strong>Operation Epic Fury<\/strong> enters a new, more aggressive phase.<\/p>\n<p>According to reports from <strong>Semafor<\/strong>, President <strong>Donald <a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/live\/trump-stock-market\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Trump\">Trump<\/a><\/strong> is currently evaluating the deployment of a <strong>Special Operations unit<\/strong>, likely <strong>Delta Force<\/strong>, to physically enter and destroy Iranian nuclear sites. This shift in strategy comes as aerial strikes have reportedly failed to reach the core of the <strong>Isfahan<\/strong> facility, which is buried deep within mountain tunnels.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>New York Times<\/strong> reports that <strong>U.S. Intelligence<\/strong> believes Iran\u2014or an allied group\u2014could still access a critical stockpile of <strong>highly enriched uranium<\/strong>. Officials state that despite the damage to tunnel entrances from <strong>Tomahawk<\/strong> missiles, a narrow access point may allow the regime to recover material for a potential nuclear device.<\/p>\n<p>In a stern briefing from the <strong>Department of War<\/strong>, Secretary <strong>Pete Hegseth<\/strong> reinforced the administration&#39;s &quot;America First&quot; military posture. &quot;If you kill or threaten Americans anywhere on Earth, we will hunt you down without apology and without hesitation,&quot; Hegseth stated, following the deaths of six U.S. service members in recent strikes.<\/p>\n<p>On the domestic front, the <strong>Miami Herald<\/strong> has uncovered new allegations regarding the death of <strong>Jeffrey Epstein<\/strong>. An inmate at the <strong>Metropolitan Correctional Center<\/strong> told the <strong>FBI<\/strong> he overheard guards discussing a cover-up on the morning of Epstein&#39;s death.<\/p>\n<p>Newly released <strong>DOJ<\/strong> documents further complicate the narrative, revealing that a guard googled Epstein&#39;s status just minutes before his body was discovered. These files also show a <strong>mysterious $5,000 cash deposit<\/strong> made by one of the guards shortly before the 2019 incident, reigniting legal scrutiny into the high-profile case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways IRGC launches &quot;True Promise 4&quot; retaliatory strikes against 27 U.S. and Israeli locations, including the Al Udeid Air [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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