On Sunday evening, U.S. stock futures tumbled and oil prices spiked as President Donald Trump signaled the conflict with Iran could intensify and acknowledged additional American casualties are likely.
Stock Market Futures Slide As Oil Jumps
Dow futures were down about 588 points, or 1.2% to 48,412.00, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures each fell more than 1% to 6,812.00 and 24,725.25, respectively.
At the same time, WTI Crude April 26 futures traded 7.3% higher at $71.90 and Gold COMEX April 26 futures were seen 2.55% higher at $5,381.90.
At the time of writing, the U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of major currencies, rose 0.35% to 97.988.
The moves followed a major U.S. military operation against Iran that began early Saturday.
Operation Targets Iranian Military Infrastructure
According to U.S. Central Command, the U.S. launched “Operation Epic Fury” at 1:15 a.m. EST, deploying B-2 stealth bombers, F-16, F-18 and F-22 fighter jets, as well as high mobility artillery rocket systems.
In the first 24 hours, U.S. forces struck Iranian command and control centers, air defense systems, ballistic missile sites and naval assets, including ships and submarines. The strikes also targeted facilities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
CENTCOM said as of 9:30 a.m. EST, three U.S. service members were killed, five were injured and several others sustained minor injuries.
Trump: ‘There Will Be Likely Be More’ Casualties
Trump addressed the nation Sunday afternoon, mourning the fallen troops and warning the toll could rise.
“We pray for the full recovery of the wounded,” Trump said, adding that “sadly, there will be likely be more, before it ends. That’s the way it is.”
“[There will] likely be more but we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case,” he continued.
The joint U.S. and Israeli operation reportedly resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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