Jing Pan

Tue, Jun 24, 2025, 8:46 AM7 min read

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The U.S. has carried out strikes on three of Iran’s key nuclear sites. President Donald Trump recently claimed the facilities were “completely and totally obliterated,” while Iran vowed to CNN that America will “pay” for its attacks “directly.”

Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar — and the threat of escalation is real. On the night of the initial U.S. strike, Trump warned on social media platform Truth that “any retaliation” by Iran against the U.S. would be met with “force far greater than what was witnessed tonight.”

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While Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran on June 23, it’s now in question — just hours later. Both countries have since violated the agreement, according to Trump.

"We basically have two countires that have been fighting for so long and so hard, that they don't know what the f— they're doing," he told the press as he left for the NATO summit.

For investors, the uncertainty is unsettling as the U.S. becomes further entangled in the Israel-Iran conflict. While geopolitical experts continue to weigh in, legendary investor Warren Buffett has offered a timeless perspective on what investors should — and shouldn’t — do during times of war.

“The one thing you can be quite sure of is if we went into some very major war, the value of money would go down — that's happened in virtually every war that I'm aware of,” Buffett told CNBC in 2014, the last time Russia invaded Ukraine.

“The last thing you'd want to do is hold money during a war.”

In times of heightened uncertainty — when markets swing on every headline — it can be tempting to retreat into cash for safety. But Buffett’s warning highlights a crucial point: War often fuels inflation. It typically brings a surge in government spending, reduced production of consumer goods and supply chain disruptions — all of which can drive prices higher.

What should investors own then?

“You might want to own a farm, you might want to own an apartment house, you might want to own securities,” he said.