Maybe it was the grinning face of Khamenei the Younger appearing on news websites on Sunday evening with the announcement of his appointment as Iran’s new Supreme Leader. Maybe it was the warnings from Kuwait and the Emirates that they are scaling back oil production because of the risk of Iranian missile and drone strikes. In any case, the decline in Asian markets on Monday reflects the markets’ lack of faith in the ability of the United States, led by Donald Trump, to speedily wind up this war, which many thought from the start was rash and dangerous.
