Over the last several days, the U.S. surgical strike of an Iranian military despot has devolved into ongoing controversial headlines. Following the killing of general Qassem Soleimani, Iranian forces responded with a missile strike against Iraqi bases housing American service members, which fortunately did not result in casualties. But an even bigger scandal sets the tone for the present Iran crisis.

Around the same timeframe as the Iranian missile launch, a Ukrainian airliner carrying mostly Iranian passengers crashed shortly after taking off from Tehran. At first, some rumors suggested that Boeing’s recent lack of quality control was involved in the crash: after all, Boeing built the plane in question. However, conspiracy theory websites reported a more heinous cause: damage from the plane showed evidence of a missile attack.

Iran quickly denied such accusations. However, recently, they came clean after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revealed evidence of missile-stricken damage (several Canadian citizens of Iranian descent were onboard). After that shocking expose, there really was no turning back. In a rare admission of guilt, Iran admitted to a “disastrous mistake” in shooting down the airliner.

But I highly doubt that the Iran crisis will stop here. Before the admission, Iran was livid with the U.S. for taking down their top military leader. And the subsequently response of a basically harmless missile strike on Iraqi soil accomplished nothing. However, with the downing of the airliner, Iranians look both deranged and incompetent.

 

Iran Crisis Perhaps a Slow Burn

Currently, though, the calm betrays a quietly brewing hatred. No matter how you view the Soleimani killing, the U.S. raised the stakes significantly. In other words, this is a type of casualty that you can’t sweep under the rug. Iran lost face.

The country further lost face when it apparently attempted to respond twice to the assassination. In the first response, nothing happened outside the rearrangement of landscaping. In the second, innocent lives were lost – mostly Iranian people.

There is no way that the Iranian military will simply let this go. We should at least acknowledge that they are planning a far more meaningful response.

To that end, investors need to be on their toes. For one thing, I’d avoid piling all my resources into the blue-chip bull market. Yes, it looks like it can go on forever, but that’s also the best time to be skeptical.

Instead, I’d seriously consider investments outside the mainstream financial system, specifically precious metals. Right now, gold and silver look like a bargain relative to the brewing Iran crisis. As well, platinum and especially palladium appear poised to jump higher given their utility and rarity.

Above all, stay vigilant. We at Crush The Street say this often but now is the time to take this sentiment to heart.