The US military struck Iranian air-defense radar installations and drone sites near the Strait of Hormuz between May 25 and May 28, escalating a conflict that has now spilled over into crypto markets with force. Bitcoin dropped below $73,000 in the aftermath, triggering between $958 million and $1 billion in liquidations across crypto assets.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed retaliation on June 1, launching missile and drone attacks aimed at the Ali Al Salem airbase in Kuwait. The sequence of events marks the most significant US-Iran military exchange since a fragile ceasefire was reached in April, and it puts roughly 20% of the world’s oil traffic at direct risk.
What happened in the Strait
The US strikes were a response to IRGC one-way attack drones targeting commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. Think of one-way attack drones as guided missiles with wings: they’re cheap, expendable, and designed to crash into their targets rather than return to base.
US Central Command intercepted four to five of these drones before they could reach commercial shipping. The retaliatory strikes on Iranian radar and drone launch sites followed over a three-day window.
