Iran Risk Market

Goldman Sachs Warns Markets Are Asleep on Iran Risk as 78 Ships Are Rerouted

Goldman Sachs issued a blunt warning that financial markets are seriously underpricing the risk posed by escalating tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 21 percent of global petroleum liquids flow. The US blockade of Iran has already redirected 78 ships, a disruption with consequences that extend well beyond energy prices to global supply chains and consumer inflation.

Iran's decision to reopen its stock market amid what its officials are calling a 'war stalemate' with the United States added a layer of complexity to the standoff. The move suggests Tehran views the current level of conflict as sustainable — a posture that analysts characterized as either supreme confidence or dangerous miscalculation. Trump's vow to continue the 'decimation' of Iran's military capability did nothing to reduce that tension.

Backchannel diplomacy is running alongside the public confrontation. Israeli officials, including the IDF chief, are reportedly making secret visits to the UAE during the conflict, suggesting regional powers are working to manage escalation even as their public positions remain firm. Italy's Prime Minister Meloni called at the Europe-Gulf Forum for Hormuz to reopen 'without tolls,' a signal that European governments are feeling tangible economic pressure from the shipping disruptions.

The stalemate dynamic is itself a source of concern: it implies that all parties believe controlled tension serves their interests better than either escalation or resolution. That equilibrium depends on every actor maintaining precise command over events and proxy forces — an assumption that has historically proven fragile.