Trump Escalates Rhetoric From 'Stone Age' to 'Destruction' Against Iran

*※ [Global Morning Briefing] summarizes global news brought to you by the Seoul Economic Daily.* **Trump Says "Tonight a Civilization Ends"… U.S. Military Strikes Iran's Key Oil Hub** The United States has re-attacked Kharg Island, Iran's largest oil export hub, just ahead of the negotiation deadline with Iran, pushing the last-minute standoff between the two sides to a climax. While some observers note that negotiation channels remain open despite the bombardment, the wide gap on core issues makes additional turmoil before any final agreement appear inevitable. U.S. and Israeli forces struck approximately 50 military targets on Kharg Island, which handles more than 90% of Iran's oil exports. Oil facilities were excluded from the targets, but civilian infrastructure — including a central Iranian railway bridge and rail lines in the Qom, Qazvin, and Karaj areas — was also hit, resulting in civilian casualties. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it struck an ExxonMobil- and Dow Chemical-owned petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia as well as a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, warning that "if the red line is crossed, we will cut off regional energy supplies for years." Tensions continue on the negotiation front as well. The core of a 45-day ceasefire mediation proposal arranged by Egypt, Pakistan, and Türkiye is the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, but Iran countered with a demand for a $2 million toll per vessel, dimming prospects for a deal. The Wall Street Journal reported that President Trump is skeptical of the negotiations and could issue a final attack order around the deadline. However, Fox News reported that U.S.-Iran talks are proceeding in a positive atmosphere, leaving a slim possibility open. The rhetoric from Iran's leadership has also intensified. President Pezeshkian said "14 million people have volunteered to sacrifice their lives," and the Supreme Council of Youth urged citizens to form human chains around power plants. Meanwhile, President Trump — separately from his pressure on Iran — again expressed frustration toward South Korea, Japan, and NATO, saying "we stationed our troops but received no help," raising speculation that pressure on South Korea could intensify in areas such as tariffs. **Netanyahu Pressures Trump Not to Agree to Iran Ceasefire… Front Lines Expand Instead** Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly personally urged President Trump not to agree to a ceasefire with Iran, further complicating the triangular dynamics among the United States, Israel, and Iran. Regardless of the negotiating table, actual front lines are expanding as attacks continue toward Iranian petrochemical complexes and Saudi industrial facilities. According to the Times of Israel, Netanyahu called Trump on the 5th and strongly opposed a ceasefire at the current stage, saying it carries significant risks. Trump responded that "a ceasefire is possible if Iran accepts America's demands," revealing a temperature gap between the two leaders. Netanyahu conveyed that Trump described Israel as a "resolute ally," but Trump characterized Israel's contribution as that of a "little brother who helped a bit," exposing a difference in perspective. Israel is effectively treating the collapse of ceasefire negotiations as a foregone conclusion and has readjusted its attack targets against Iranian energy and infrastructure facilities. Netanyahu said that even if a U.S.-Iran ceasefire is reached, operations against Lebanon's Hezbollah will continue. Israeli Defense Minister Katz reaffirmed that the disarmament of Hezbollah remains the ultimate objective. Fighting has not stopped on the battlefield either. Israeli forces struck the Assaluyeh petrochemical complex — a strategic stronghold in southern Iran — for the second consecutive day, while Iran launched retaliatory strikes on the Jubail petrochemical industrial complex in Saudi Arabia. Jubail is one of the world's largest industrial zones, producing 60 million tons of petrochemical products annually, and the strike is expected to cause unavoidable shocks to global supply chains. **Anthropic, the Hottest Name in AI, Triples Revenue in Three Months** Despite the headwind of a Pentagon exclusion declaration, Anthropic has surpassed $30 billion in annualized revenue, shaking up the AI industry landscape. Fueled by the explosive popularity of enterprise AI tools such as Claude Code and Claude Cowork, the company's revenue more than tripled in just three months, closely chasing leader OpenAI. Anthropic said its annualized revenue exceeded $30 billion as of last month, a sharp jump from approximately $9 billion at the end of last year. The number of enterprise customers spending more than $1 million annually also doubled from 500 in February this year to more than 1,000 currently. This expansion of the enterprise customer base occurred even as the Pentagon designated Anthropic as a supply chain risk factor and blocked bidding by companies doing business with it. The company continues its aggressive push in infrastructure investment. Anthropic has signed a long-term supply contract for next-generation TPUs with Google and Broadcom. The plan calls for deploying custom chips designed by Google and manufactured by Broadcom into 3.5 GW of AI computing infrastructure starting in 2027 — a facility scale equivalent to approximately 3.5 nuclear power plants. Anthropic is also accelerating new revenue channels. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is pursuing a $1 billion joint venture with private equity firms including General Atlantic, Blackstone, and Hellman & Friedman. The structure is designed to generate revenue from AI tool sales and consulting targeting portfolio companies of these private equity firms. Anthropic is aiming to reach breakeven by 2028, earlier than OpenAI, and competition between the two companies in this year's IPO market is expected to intensify further. **JPMorgan CEO Dimon Warns of Iran War-Driven Inflation, Private Credit Market Risks** Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, warned of inflation triggered by the Iran war in his annual shareholder letter. The warning from the head of America's largest bank is further heightening investor anxiety over the private credit market, where concerns about distress had already been mounting. Dimon identified "gradually rising inflation" as the biggest risk this year. He analyzed that if oil and commodity price shocks and global supply chain restructuring materialize due to the Iran war, interest rates could rise and asset prices could fall. "Interest rates act like gravity on most asset prices," he said, noting that with U.S. household net worth currently at 560% of gross domestic product (GDP), a sharp decline in asset values could deliver a severe shock to global markets. He maintained a cautious view on the private credit market. He assessed that at a total size of $1.8 trillion, it is smaller than the $13 trillion investment-grade corporate bond or mortgage markets, making systemic risk transmission unlikely. However, he warned that when the credit cycle turns, leveraged loan losses could be larger than expected. Excessive optimism, covenant erosion, and the expansion of payment-in-kind (PIK) structures — which add interest to principal instead of paying cash — were identified as factors that could amplify losses. Dimon also cited the lack of transparency and loose valuation standards in the private credit market as concerns, predicting that investors are likely to rush to sell simultaneously if market conditions deteriorate. He analyzed that if rising interest rates, widening credit spreads, or regulatory tightening converge, the capital burden on companies would also intensify.

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