The skies above Iran erupted with the most intense wave of airstrikes since the war began, shattering the fragile belief among global investors that the conflict might soon end. While financial markets cautiously rebounded on hopes that President Donald Trump would bring hostilities to a rapid conclusion, residents in Tehran described a very different reality: a night of relentless explosions that turned entire neighborhoods into scenes of terror.

According to U.S. officials and witnesses on the ground, Tuesday marked the heaviest day of military strikes since the United States and Israel launched their coordinated campaign against Iran on February 28. The Pentagon confirmed that more aircraft, bombers, and precision strikes were deployed than at any previous point in the conflict.

At a briefing in Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the scale of the assault in stark terms. “Today will be yet again our most intense day of strikes inside Iran,” he said. “The most fighters, the most bombers, the most strikes, with intelligence more refined than ever.”

For civilians in Tehran, the bombardment felt apocalyptic.

“It was like hell,” one resident told reporters by phone, speaking anonymously for fear of government reprisals. “They were bombing everywhere, every part of Tehran. My children are afraid to sleep now.”

In eastern Tehran, two five-story residential buildings were struck late Monday, leaving behind twisted concrete shells and shattered walls. Footage released by Iran’s Red Crescent showed rescue workers carrying victims from the rubble in body bags while others searched for survivors beneath the debris. As recovery efforts continued Tuesday morning, another missile reportedly struck a nearby intersection, sending emergency crews scrambling for cover.

Despite the escalating destruction, global markets appeared to move in the opposite direction.

Investors had been rattled the previous day by a surge in oil prices that briefly pushed crude close to $120 a barrel, triggering fears of a global economic shock reminiscent of the Middle East energy crises of the 1970s. Yet within hours, those fears eased. Oil prices fell back below $90 per barrel, while stock markets in Asia and Europe recovered part of their earlier losses.

The reason: President Trump’s comments suggesting the war might soon be over.

Speaking at a press conference Monday, Trump said the military campaign had already inflicted “serious damage” on Iran and predicted that the conflict would end sooner than the four-week timeline he had initially outlined. His remarks appeared to reassure investors that Washington would move to prevent a prolonged war that could destabilize the global economy.

Behind the scenes, however, military planners appear to be racing against the clock.

A source familiar with Israeli strategy told reporters that Israel intends to inflict as much damage as possible before a potential ceasefire window opens. If Trump decides to halt the offensive abruptly, the opportunity for further strikes could vanish overnight.

“We are not planning for an endless war,” Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar said, adding that discussions with Washington were underway about when military operations might stop.

Meanwhile, Tehran has responded with open defiance.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that if the United States and Israel continue their attacks, Iran could block oil shipments from the Gulf — a move that would disrupt roughly one-fifth of the world’s energy supply. The threat centers on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow shipping lane through which massive volumes of global oil and liquefied natural gas flow each day.

“If the aggression continues, not a single litre of Middle Eastern oil will reach America or its allies,” a Revolutionary Guard spokesperson said.

Iran’s political leadership has also signaled that it has no intention of backing down. Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf declared that the country was not seeking a ceasefire and vowed retaliation.

“The aggressor must be struck in the mouth so that they learn a lesson,” he wrote on social media.

The war has already taken a devastating human toll. Iranian state media reports that at least 1,270 people have been killed since the air campaign began. In Israel, Iranian missile strikes have killed 12 civilians and injured dozens more. The conflict has also spread beyond the two countries, with violence spilling into Lebanon and across the Persian Gulf.

Yet even as the bombs continue to fall, uncertainty surrounds the ultimate goal of the campaign.

Trump has not clearly defined what victory would look like. Earlier in the conflict he demanded that Iran allow the United States to select a new leadership, but that demand was notably absent from his most recent remarks.

Some analysts believe the administration may ultimately choose a quick military victory rather than a risky attempt to topple Iran’s government.

“There is a big question mark over how long the world can tolerate the economic and political costs of this conflict,” said Clionadh Raleigh, head of the conflict-monitoring group ACLED.

For ordinary civilians in Tehran, however, those geopolitical calculations feel distant.

As air raid sirens echo across the city and families crowd into basements seeking shelter, the question on everyone’s mind is far simpler — and far more urgent.

How much worse can the next night become?