{"id":64471,"date":"2026-07-08T23:38:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T03:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/u-s-military-hits-90-iranian-targets-as-middle-east-ceasefire-collapses-samsung-shares-slide\/64471\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T23:38:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T03:38:17","slug":"u-s-military-hits-90-iranian-targets-as-middle-east-ceasefire-collapses-samsung-shares-slide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/u-s-military-hits-90-iranian-targets-as-middle-east-ceasefire-collapses-samsung-shares-slide\/64471\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Military Hits 90 Iranian Targets as Middle East Ceasefire Collapses; Samsung Shares Slide"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed strikes on approximately 90 Iranian targets<\/strong> during a second consecutive night of operations, aimed at degrading capabilities to threaten maritime navigation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>President Donald Trump declared the fragile ceasefire with Iran is &quot;over,&quot;<\/strong> following a series of Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Samsung Electronics (<a href=\"\/stock\/005930.KS\">005930.KS<\/a>) shares declined 2.2%<\/strong> as an early relief rally faded, with investors weighing record preliminary profits against fears of a peak in the AI-driven chip cycle.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Global energy markets reacted sharply to the escalation<\/strong>, with <strong>Brent crude<\/strong> jumping nearly <strong>8%<\/strong> to trade above <strong>$80 per barrel<\/strong> on fears of supply disruptions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Retaliatory Iranian strikes were reported in Bahrain and Kuwait<\/strong>, targeting areas near U.S. military installations and prompting the activation of regional air defense systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>U.S. Escalates Military Campaign Against Iran<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>U.S. military<\/strong> launched a massive wave of airstrikes across <strong>Iran<\/strong> early Thursday, significantly escalating a conflict that has already disrupted global trade. According to <strong>U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)<\/strong>, the operation successfully hit approximately <strong>90 targets<\/strong>, including <strong>missile and drone storage sites<\/strong>, <strong>air defense systems<\/strong>, <strong>surveillance towers<\/strong>, and <strong>naval infrastructure<\/strong>. This follows an initial round of strikes on Tuesday that targeted over <strong>80 sites<\/strong> in response to Iranian aggression against merchant vessels.<\/p>\n<p><strong>President Donald Trump<\/strong> signaled a hardline shift in U.S. policy, stating at a NATO summit that the previous ceasefire agreement is now void. <em>\u201cAs far as I\u2019m concerned, it\u2019s over,\u201d<\/em> the President remarked, describing the Iranian leadership\u2019s actions as a &quot;waste of time&quot; for diplomatic efforts. The strikes were concentrated along Iran&#39;s southern coastline, specifically targeting assets used to harass shipping in the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, a waterway responsible for a fifth of the world&#39;s oil and gas transit.<\/p>\n<h2>Regional Retaliation and Market Volatility<\/h2>\n<p>In the wake of the U.S. offensive, <strong>Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard<\/strong> claimed responsibility for retaliatory strikes against <strong>Bahrain<\/strong> and <strong>Kuwait<\/strong>. Air raid sirens were activated at the <strong>U.S. Navy\u2019s 5th Fleet<\/strong> headquarters in Bahrain, while Kuwaiti military officials confirmed they were actively intercepting incoming drones and missiles. The exchange has sent shockwaves through financial markets, with <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">West Texas Intermediate<\/a> (WTI)<\/strong> crude rising over <strong>7%<\/strong> to reach <strong>$75 per barrel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Defense contractors and energy firms saw increased trading volume as investors shifted toward safe-haven assets. However, the broader market remains under pressure due to the dual threat of geopolitical instability and rising energy costs, which analysts warn could reignite inflationary pressures. <em>Market sentiment has turned decidedly cautious<\/em> as the prospect of a prolonged naval blockade or further infrastructure strikes looms.<\/p>\n<h2>Samsung Shares Falter Despite Record Earnings<\/h2>\n<p>In the technology sector, <strong>Samsung Electronics (<a href=\"\/stock\/005930.KS\">005930.KS<\/a>)<\/strong> saw its shares decline <strong>2.2%<\/strong> on Thursday, erasing gains from an early-session rally. The drop comes despite the company forecasting a <strong>19-fold surge<\/strong> in second-quarter operating profit to <strong>89.4 trillion won ($58.4 billion)<\/strong>. While the figures comfortably beat analyst estimates, the &quot;sell-the-news&quot; reaction highlights growing investor skepticism regarding the longevity of the <strong>AI-driven semiconductor boom<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Analysts noted that while <strong>DRAM<\/strong> and <strong>NAND flash<\/strong> prices rose <strong>44%<\/strong> and <strong>53%<\/strong> respectively during the quarter, concerns over slowing AI infrastructure spending by major U.S. tech firms are weighing on valuations. The decline in <strong>Samsung<\/strong> also dragged down the <strong>KOSPI<\/strong> index, which faced additional headwinds from the regional military escalation. <em>Investors appear to be taking profits<\/em> after a year-long rally, shifting focus toward the sustainability of margins as supply bottlenecks begin to ease.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed strikes on approximately 90 Iranian targets during a second consecutive night of operations, [&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":[970,4461,5096,5230,12423,16163,17477,20239],"class_list":["post-64471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-wti","tag-crude-oil","tag-global-markets","tag-defense","tag-centcom","tag-samsung-electronics-005930-ks-stock-005930-ks","tag-iran-conflict","tag-tensions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64471","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=64471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64471\/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=64471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}