Suddenly, a sharp drop of 300 points! Turkish air force base, alarms blaring! Stock market plummeting intraday!

The situation remains tense!

On the early morning of March 13, air raid sirens sounded at the Incirlik Air Base in southeastern Turkey, where U.S. troops are stationed. It is reported that the Incirlik Air Base is equipped with NATO missile warning systems.

During trading that day, the Turkish stock market plummeted sharply. As of 17:20 Beijing time on the 13th, the Istanbul 100 Index (XU100) fell nearly 300 points, a drop of over 2%.

Energy prices continue to be a market focus. Due to U.S.-Israel military strikes on Iran and ongoing disruptions in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, several major energy companies operating in the Middle East have recently announced production halts or reductions. After a 10% surge yesterday, international oil prices continued to rise today, with Brent crude futures briefly up more than 2%, breaking through $102 per barrel. As of the time of writing, the gain in Brent crude futures has narrowed to within 1%.

U.S. military base alarms

According to Xinhua News Agency, citing the Anadolu Agency of Turkey on the 13th, air raid sirens sounded at the Incirlik Air Base in southeastern Turkey early that morning.

The Turkish Ministry of Defense has not yet issued a statement confirming this report. Local media reported hearing explosions in the area.

Incirlik Air Base is located in Adana Province in southeastern Turkey, home to the U.S. 39th Air Wing of the European Command, and is equipped with NATO missile warning systems.

Earlier, on March 9, the Turkish Ministry of Defense issued a statement saying that a ballistic missile launched from Iran, with a trajectory indicating it was heading toward Turkish airspace, was successfully intercepted and destroyed by NATO air defense and missile defense systems in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Turkish Ministry emphasized that Turkey values good neighborly relations and regional stability but will take all necessary measures to defend its territorial integrity and airspace. It also reiterated that all parties should heed Turkey’s warnings in this regard.

On March 10, Turkey’s Presidential Communications Directorate issued a statement saying that President Erdoğan had a phone call with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

During the call, Erdoğan stated that there is an urgent need to open diplomatic channels, and Turkey is making efforts toward this. He said that Iran’s illegal interventions and attacks on regional brotherly countries are unacceptable and must cease.

Erdoğan emphasized that any violation of Turkish airspace, regardless of the reason, is unforgivable, and Turkey will continue to take all necessary measures to respond.

Raisi responded that the missile entering Turkish airspace did not originate from Iran, and Iran will conduct a comprehensive investigation into the matter.

On the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu spoke by phone to exchange views on regional tensions and the consequences of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.

Amir-Abdollahian stated that Iran has not launched any missiles or drones toward Turkey and emphasized the need to be vigilant against Israel’s attempts to undermine Iran’s relations with regional countries.

Both sides also agreed to establish a joint military expert team as soon as possible to investigate recent allegations, based on a previous consensus between the two presidents.

Oil remains a key to breaking the deadlock

Israel’s emergency organization “Red Shield of David” announced on the 13th that early that morning, an Iranian missile attacked the northern town of Zarcil, injuring 58 people.

On the same day, the Israel Defense Forces issued a statement saying that over the past day, dozens of Israeli military aircraft carried out 20 large-scale strikes targeting Iran’s western and central regions, including missile launchers, defense systems, and weapons manufacturing sites, totaling over 200 targets.

Amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East and disruptions in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, several major energy companies operating in the region have recently announced production halts or reductions.

According to CNN on the 12th, multiple U.S. energy industry executives urged the government to end military actions against Iran as soon as possible.

The report cited sources saying that in recent days, U.S. military officials have been communicating with energy sector representatives. Industry executives have called for an end to military operations and have requested U.S. Navy escort support.

However, U.S. officials repeatedly refused these requests, stating that no escort orders have been issued and that U.S. assets in the region remain at high risk, preventing the deployment of naval vessels.

Other sources told the media that senior U.S. government officials admitted in recent closed-door meetings that they had not prepared contingency plans for Iran potentially blocking the Strait of Hormuz.

Several insiders revealed that the Department of Defense and the National Security Council underestimated Iran’s willingness to respond to U.S. military strikes by blocking the strait. Before military actions began, relevant decision-making meetings only considered analysis and forecasts from certain agencies as secondary, whereas in previous administrations, this information was deemed critical.