On Friday, when the US-Iran conflict entered its 147th day, American forces completed a 13th consecutive wave of strikes on Iran in the early hours of Friday local time amid reports that Iranian officials had rejected a U.S. cease-fire proposal carried to Tehran by the leader of Iraq.
These developments indicate that a resolution to the hostilities remains unlikely in the near term.
The U.S. military said it had targeted Iranian military assets and facilities, including drone storage and coastal surveillance sites, to diminish the threat to commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The attacks began at 2:15 a.m. local time and ended at 4:30 a.m., according to U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East.
Official Iranian media reported that U.S. missiles had struck several locations around the capital of Iran’s -rich Khuzestan Province.
Iranian and Iraqi officials said earlier that Iran had rejected a cease-fire proposal from President Trump that Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi of Iraq presented: Iran’s top negotiator, Brig. Gen. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, told local news outlets that there was no need for another mediator.
“The problem is not passing messages,” Mr. Ghalibaf said. “The problem is America’s outlook.”
With the cease-fire reached last month seemingly little more than a piece of paper now, and the Iranian-allied Houthi militants in Yemen threatening to expand the fight to the Red Sea, the oil markets shuddered on Thursday.
The price of oil hit $100 a barrel for the first time since May after the Iranian allies, the Houthis, claimed to have struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. That stoked fears that, like the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively shut down to traffic, the Red Sea transit route might also be choked off.
The Houthi strikes were the first since the group announced a blockade on Saudi ships this week. The Saudi government confirmed a strike on one ship, but not the other.
On evaluating the movements of the today on different time pattern charts, I observed that the escalating conflict between the US and Iran has become more complex than what US President Donald Trump expected when he joined his close ally Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in bombing Iran on February 28, 2026.
Undoubtedly, after abducting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife on January 2, 2026, President Trump became more confident about controlling the rare earth material and oil reserves of any country at any time.
After controlling Venezuela, he tried to control Greenland but failed due to criticism from the NATO members, who opposed this attempt.
Meanwhile, he found an opportunity when Israel was encouraging intentions to change the Iranian regime through provoking the Iranian people, who were conducting demonstrations at the same time. Despite repeated attempts through its intelligence agency, “Mossad,” he decided to conduct air strikes but failed.
Undoubtedly, the Us-Israel war on Iran provided an opportunity to retaliate with extensive attacks, not only on Israel but also on US military bases in the Middle East, and proved that Iran has come up as one of the hidden superpowers of the world in 2026.
Now, President Trump finds himself in an awkward situation as the conflict is in a Catch-22 ( https://www.investing.com/analysis/golds-catch22-prolonged-usiran-tensions-extend-bearish-pressure-200683147) position due to one clause of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), as Trump couldn’t take his head out of this problem when the US is going to have mid-term elections in November.
And, the escalating conflict with Iran has resulted in the choking of the Strait of Hormuz – an important waterway – since the beginning of this truce, which has turned into a major war strategy instrument. Now, the second critical southern gateway of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait has also been choked by Houthis – an Iranian-supported group.
I conclude that after trading in a narrow range during the last two trading sessions, gold futures could start the upcoming week with a gap-down opening, and could retest the key support at $3,890 on Monday, if it fails to retest the immediate resistance at $4,042.
Undoubtedly, weekend developments matter a lot to map the scale of escalation of war between the U.S. and Iran, as recently the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives backed legislation on Thursday directing President Donald Trump to halt U.S. military action against Iran, the latest symbolic rebuke of the Republican president from Congress.
The resolution, introduced by Representative Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat, directs Trump “to remove the use of United States Armed Forces from hostilities” against Iran unless Congress authorizes it. However, it was largely symbolic. Lawmakers have passed similar resolutions repeatedly in recent months, but they have not led to cessation of the war.
Now, the whole world awaits how President Trump will react to this issue over the weekend.
Disclaimer: Readers are advised to take any position in gold at their own risk, as this analysis is based only on observations.
