{"id":62956,"date":"2026-06-10T14:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-iran-tensions-escalate-as-trump-claims-control-of-strait-visa-and-openai-ink-ai-commerce-deal\/62956\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T14:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:38:16","slug":"us-iran-tensions-escalate-as-trump-claims-control-of-strait-visa-and-openai-ink-ai-commerce-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/us-iran-tensions-escalate-as-trump-claims-control-of-strait-visa-and-openai-ink-ai-commerce-deal\/62956\/","title":{"rendered":"US-Iran Tensions Escalate as Trump Claims Control of Strait; Visa and OpenAI Ink AI Commerce Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>President Trump declared US control over the Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> following a &quot;secret mission&quot; that escorted over <strong>100 million barrels of oil<\/strong>, asserting that Iran\u2019s military is &quot;completely defeated.&quot;<\/li>\n<li><strong>Visa (<a href=\"\/stock\/V\">V<\/a>) and OpenAI announced a strategic partnership<\/strong> to integrate Visa&#39;s payment infrastructure into &quot;agentic commerce,&quot; allowing AI agents to securely initiate transactions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The US Department of Energy (DOE) issued an RFP for a 40-million-barrel exchange<\/strong> from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to stabilize global supply amid the ongoing Middle East crisis.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The US Federal Budget deficit widened to $292.6 billion in May<\/strong>, significantly worse than the $283.1 billion forecast, as interest costs and military spending continue to weigh on the balance.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Iran accused the US of &quot;war crimes&quot;<\/strong> after airstrikes allegedly destroyed vital civilian water infrastructure in Sirik, leaving over <strong>20,000 residents<\/strong> without drinking water.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Trump Claims Victory in Strait of Hormuz as Conflict Widens<\/h2>\n<p>President <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> announced on Wednesday that a month-long secret US military mission has successfully secured the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, escorting more than <strong>200 commercial ships<\/strong> and <strong>100 million barrels of oil<\/strong>. In a series of social media posts, Trump declared that the US now &quot;controls the Strait&quot; and that Iran\u2019s economy and military are &quot;lost,&quot; though Tehran responded by targeting US bases in <strong>Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The escalating rhetoric follows a breakdown in peace talks, with Trump warning that he may soon target Iranian <strong>power plants and bridges<\/strong>. Meanwhile, Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for Iran\u2019s National Security Commission, warned that any further escalation would ensure the war is &quot;not limited to the region,&quot; suggesting potential retaliatory strikes against Western interests globally.<\/p>\n<h2>Visa and OpenAI Partner for &quot;Agentic Commerce&quot;<\/h2>\n<p>Financial giant <strong>Visa (<a href=\"\/stock\/V\">V<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>OpenAI<\/strong> have entered a strategic collaboration to build the &quot;trust layer&quot; for AI-driven shopping. The partnership will integrate Visa\u2019s global payment network and security protocols into OpenAI\u2019s platform, enabling <strong>AI agents<\/strong> to conduct autonomous transactions within user-defined spending limits and permissions.<\/p>\n<p>The initiative, unveiled at the <strong>Visa Payments Forum<\/strong>, includes an &quot;Agentic Directory&quot; to verify legitimate AI participants and a &quot;Large Transaction Model&quot; designed to improve fraud detection. Executives stated that as AI agents become active participants in the economy, secure and programmable commerce infrastructure will be essential for maintaining consumer trust.<\/p>\n<h2>Energy Markets Brace for SPR Exchange and Supply Volatility<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>US Department of Energy<\/strong> has officially solicited an exchange of up to <strong>40 million barrels of <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">crude oil<\/a><\/strong> from the SPR\u2019s Bryan Mound and Big Hill sites. This move is intended to provide immediate market liquidity while the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong> remains &quot;effectively closed&quot; to normal traffic, a condition the EIA now expects to persist into early 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Under the exchange authority, participating companies will return the borrowed barrels with an additional &quot;premium&quot; in the future, effectively growing the SPR&#39;s long-term inventory at no cost to taxpayers. This comes as <strong>US natural gas inventories<\/strong> are projected to rise by <strong>99 Bcf<\/strong> ahead of Thursday&#39;s EIA report, providing a slight buffer against broader energy volatility.<\/p>\n<h2>Fiscal Strain and Defense Contracts<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>US Treasury<\/strong> confirmed a <strong>$292.6 billion budget deficit<\/strong> for May, a sharp reversal from April\u2019s $215 billion surplus. The widening gap highlights the fiscal pressure of servicing national debt and funding heightened military operations, with the total FY2026 deficit already reaching <strong>$1.2 trillion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Amid the conflict, the <strong>US Army<\/strong> awarded <strong>L3Harris Technologies (<a href=\"\/stock\/LHX\">LHX<\/a>)<\/strong> a contract worth up to <strong>$106 million<\/strong> for its <strong>VAMPIRE counter-drone systems<\/strong>. The company plans to begin high-volume production in <strong>Huntsville, Alabama<\/strong>, this year to meet the urgent demand for low-cost defense against the persistent drone threats currently seen in the Middle East and Europe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways President Trump declared US control over the Strait of Hormuz following a &quot;secret mission&quot; that escorted over 100 [&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 center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[4450,4461,4487,5317,6530,6870,12699,17735,19192],"class_list":["post-62956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-spr","tag-crude-oil","tag-strait-of-hormuz","tag-openai","tag-doe","tag-federal-budget","tag-visa-v-stock-v","tag-us-iran-conflict","tag-l3harris-lhx-stock-lhx"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}