International gold and silver prices experienced a sharp intraday surge. At the time of writing, spot gold had risen by more than 1%, while spot silver climbed over 2%, after having earlier fallen by as much as 1%.

The rally follows significant news emerging from the Strait of Hormuz. Citing informed sources, a U.S. media report on the 19th indicated that the United States is deploying additional troops to the Middle East and may seize a key Iranian oil export hub in an effort to pressure Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

According to the report, the U.S. 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, comprising approximately 2,200 personnel, is en route to the Middle East aboard amphibious assault ships from Japan and is expected to arrive within about a week. The U.S. could potentially use this unit to occupy Kharg Island, using it as leverage to compel Iran to reopen the strait.

In a related development, a joint statement issued on March 19 by France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan announced that these nations are prepared to take appropriate collective measures to ensure the safety of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Separately, the Israeli military stated on the 19th that it has so far destroyed "approximately 85%" of Iran's air defense and detection systems, and has eliminated or disabled "60%" of Iran's ballistic missile launchers.

According to Israeli sources, Chief of Staff ZamiR stated in an internal discussion that Israel's military operations against Iran are "not even halfway complete." Some senior military officials suggested that there is currently no timetable for ending the conflict.