● PENTAGON ORDERS IRAN STRIKE PREP OIL FALLS

The Pentagon has ordered US Central Command to complete preparations for resuming major combat operations in Iran, officials tell Axios. US and Israeli sources say strikes could come before the US midterm elections, and even before Israel's own elections a week earlier. No final decision or strike date has been set. Yet WTI crude ($USO) slipped 1.05% to $88.25 a barrel on the news, a sign traders aren't pricing in an imminent clash despite the war-risk headline. The gap between the headline and the tape is the story.