Donald Trump ordered joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday 28 February after intelligence indicated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures were gathered at a Tehran compound, enabling a 'decapitation' attack aimed at fracturing the regime's command structure. The move derailed diplomacy that Oman had been trying to broker, and markets immediately repriced the risks: any disruption around the Strait of Hormuz would lift energy costs and keep inflation higher for longer, making near-term rate cuts less likely. Investors have leaned into classic 'risk-off' trades, with gold and the dollar favoured as havens while bond markets remained jumpy on inflation fears. Brent crude jumped sharply and European gas prices rose, while equities sold off as traders priced a wider regional conflict.