U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sept. 4 that the United States had "basically taken over Iran" and could strike Iran’s underground Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site soon, remarks he made while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office. He also described the six-month conflict as a military confrontation rather than a war, calling it a minor matter for the United States. Markets moved in a different direction. Brent crude settled at $95.23 a barrel and briefly touched $97 intraday, while West Texas Intermediate closed at $91.20. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield climbed to its highest level since 2023. In crypto, Bitcoin was at $79,577 as of the morning of Sept. 5 Taipei time, down 1.41% over 24 hours, and Ether traded at $2,452. The report also cited The Wall Street Journal and Axios on internal White House discussions over the conflict, and detailed the location and construction of Pickaxe Mountain, a deeply buried site in Iran’s Isfahan province that the International Atomic Energy Agency has never been allowed to inspect.

An Iranian source said on July 25 that Iran’s Ghow Mountain nuclear facility is not only heavily fortified but currently empty, and argued that any U.S. strike on the site would be doomed to fail. The official said former U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to use an attack on the facility to create political credit for himself, adding that hitting an empty warehouse would only help spread false information and bring no real-world benefit. The same official said Iran would respond in different ways and that its reaction would “not be limited to large-scale military action.” Earlier, on July 22, the United States had informed Israel that it planned to intensify strikes on Iran in the coming days, including the first use of heavy bombers since U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran began this year. Those bombers were expected to target the underground nuclear facility at Ghow Mountain. Trump had also repeatedly threatened over the past week that strikes on the region could come “very soon.”

Israeli media said Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu spoke for about 30 minutes on restarting military action against Iran. A White House Situation Room meeting is expected Tuesday to review military options.

Iran launched missiles near Israel's Dimona nuclear facility, injuring 7. The escalation triggered crypto panic, with Bitcoin dropping sharply before recovering above $69,000.

US-Israeli forces struck Iranian nuclear sites and steel plants; Iran retaliated against Gulf states. Brent crude topped $106, Bitcoin traded at $66,185. US stocks fell; Pentagon considers deploying 10,000 more troops.

Trump threatened on April 19 to destroy all Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran rejects a deal by April 22. IRGC gunboats attacked commercial vessels, breaking a ceasefire. U.S. negotiators return to Islamabad; Iran loses $500M daily from the blockade.

A 15-point framework delivered by the US through Pakistan was rejected by Iran as unacceptable. Reuters also reported that Pakistan has submitted a new two-stage proposal, which Tehran said it is reviewing.

U.S. stocks closed higher on July 22 as a sharp rebound in storage chip names pushed the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 5.21%, its biggest one-day gain since June 22. Sandisk, SK Hynix, Western Digital, Micron, Seagate, and Kioxia ADR all posted double-digit gains, helping lift the Nasdaq, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average. Oil and precious metals also moved higher, with WTI and Brent both rising about 2%, while COMEX gold and silver extended gains. Bitcoin traded near $66,507 and Ether stood at $1,901.08. According to Chaoxiang Research, the near-term market focus has now shifted to the next day’s earnings from Tesla and Alphabet, which it described as the real test for this round of Big Tech results. The report said the rebound in storage shares was driven mainly by capital flowing back into semiconductors after last week’s heavy sell-off, even as views on the durability of the move remain divided. It also pointed to developments across the supply chain, including Samsung Electronics expanding NAND cooperation with Nvidia, SK Hynix reportedly looking at Intel’s Ohio site, and TSMC planning foundry price increases in 2027. At the same time, tensions in the Middle East and a new U.S. tariff move targeting some Canadian products added another layer of uncertainty for markets.