Trump Sets Deal Deadline As Iran Threatens ‘Ferocious’ Retaliation: What Do Prediction Markets Say?

Daragh Thomas

Wed, February 25, 2026 at 9:30 PM GMT+9 3 min read

President** Donald Trump **has given Iran 15 days to cut a deal or face consequences, but is reportedly also considering limited strikes before the deadline.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei was unambiguous on Monday: there is no such thing as a limited strike.

“An act of aggression would be regarded as an act of aggression. Period. And any state would react to an act of aggression as part of its inherent right of self-defence ferociously.”

On Face the Nation Sunday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told host Margaret Brennan that if the US attacks, Iran would target American bases across the region.

“We have to hit the Americans’ base in the region,” he said, adding that Washington’s military buildup “cannot pressurize us.”

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When Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said over the weekend that Trump was puzzled why Iran hadn’t “capitulated,” Baghaei’s response was blunt: Iranians had never capitulated at any point in their history.

$373 Million Says It’s Coming

Polymarket’s “US Strikes Iran By…?” market has become one of the platform’s biggest geopolitical bets, with more than $373 million wagered on the outcome.

Traders are pricing a 19% chance of a strike before the end of the month.

Zoom out and the picture gets starker: 59% by March 31, 73% by December 31.

A separate Polymarket market on “How Many Countries Will The US Strike In 2026?” puts the most likely answer at six (31%) or seven (23%), with over $210,000 traded. Iran would be a new addition to the 2026 tally.

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Deal or No Deal

At the heart of the standoff is Iran’s nuclear program.

Vice President** JD Vance** said Iran has yet to acknowledge Trump’s core conditions; chief among them, zero uranium enrichment on Iranian soil.

Washington also wants Tehran’s ballistic missile program on the table. Iran has called both non-negotiable.

A third round of talks is scheduled for Thursday in Geneva.

Baghaei dismissed reports of a deal already being reached: “The speculation raised about an interim agreement has no basis.”

The Trade

If this escalates, defense wins first. Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ:PLTR), whose Pentagon analytics contracts put it at the center of any Gulf buildup, has historically caught a bid on escalation.

RTX Corp (NYSE:RTX), maker of the Tomahawk and Patriot missiles likely deployed in any strike, is the more direct hardware play.

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Iran sits astride the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow chokepoint that carries roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil supply.

Any retaliation that threatens the strait could send crude sharply higher.

United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) and ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (NYSE:UCO) are the most direct vehicles.

For longer-term exposure, Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) benefit from sustained high prices, though any deal that restores Iranian supply could hurt them.

However, with zero enrichment and ballistic missiles both listed as non-negotiable by Tehran, that deal may be further away than the market thinks.”

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This article Trump Sets Deal Deadline As Iran Threatens ‘Ferocious’ Retaliation: What Do Prediction Markets Say? originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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