Washington and Jerusalem have launched military strikes against Iran. The operations were confirmed by U.S. President Donald Trump and the Israeli government. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Katz described the action as a preemptive strike on targets in Tehran aimed at eliminating threats to Israel’s security. Shortly afterward, Donald Trump confirmed large-scale attacks carried out by U.S. armed forces. In a video address, he said the operation was massive and ongoing, intended to protect the American people and eliminate an immediate threat posed by Iran’s leadership.
“Brave American heroes could lose their lives, and there may be casualties, as often happens in war. But we are doing this not for the present. We are doing it for the future, and it is an honorable mission,” Trump said.
According to Reuters, citing a source in the U.S. government, the strikes are being carried out from the air and from the sea. Earlier, U.S. media outlets, including The New York Times, as well as Israel’s N12 television channel, reported on possible U.S. involvement in the Israeli military operation. Israeli defense officials said the attack was coordinated with the United States.
In addition to Tehran, Iran’s Fars news agency reported explosions in Isfahan, Qom, Karaj, and Kermanshah. According to the state news agency Irna, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is alive and unharmed. A retaliatory strike has already been carried out: according to Israeli officials, Iran has launched missiles toward Israeli territory. An Iranian representative told Reuters that the response would be “devastating.”
The geopolitical escalation triggered a broad risk-off move across financial markets. Bitcoin recorded a sharp decline: over the past 24 hours, the leading cryptocurrency has fallen by about 6% and is currently trading around $63,700.
The 24-hour correlation with the S&P 500 stood at 0.75, indicating a close link with traditional risk assets, despite U.S. equity markets being closed for much of the period.
Additional pressure came from highly leveraged positions. Over the past 24 hours, Bitcoin liquidations totaled $87.84 million, with $75.67 million attributed to long positions. The unwinding of overleveraged bullish bets intensified the downward move. Negative funding rates point to continued selling pressure in the crypto derivatives market.
The sharp geopolitical escalation has once again highlighted the vulnerability of cryptocurrencies to global risk shocks. As long as tensions persist, the market is likely to remain under pressure, with investors favoring defensive assets and reduced leverage.
