The Iran conflict is getting worse, with new nuclear threats and more countries joining the fight — bad for the region, oil prices, and markets.

• Iran's hardline leadership now wants nuclear weapons more than ever: a big Hiroshima-style bomb as a trophy, plus smaller warheads to put on missiles aimed at US bases.
• Bahrain and Kuwait joined the attacks on Iran for the first time, and Russia is helping Iran build drones deep inside Russian territory where they're hard to hit — the kind of pileup that leads to world wars.
• The Red Sea isn't fully closed, but it's heading that way: Saudi ships can't get insurance after Saudi Arabia attacked the Houthis, while US, UK, and China ships can still pass for now.
• The US is seen as a declining power here — it dismantled its soft power, so it's left with military strikes, and Iran can keep inflicting economic damage, which makes Iran the rising force.
• Iranian threats against Trump and top White House aides are why Trump switched back to the older Air Force One, since the donated Qatari jet lacks full missile defenses and mid-air refueling.

For money: the Fed under likely new chair Kevin Warsh won't turn on the money printer with oil high, so if this drags on past a year and job losses spread, help for markets will come late. Tech layoffs in 2026 already top all of 2025. The advice: don't pile into debt, take some profits, and own assets outright so a downturn can't wipe you out.

Outlook: No deal is holding, so expect continued US strikes, higher oil, and rising risk of a longer war that drags in more countries.