Trump Slams 'Unpatriotic' GOP as House Reins in War Powers; Gold Rises Amid Market Tension

Trump Rebukes 'Unpatriotic' GOP After Iran War Powers Vote

President Donald Trump has launched a blistering verbal assault on members of his own party, labeling four Republican lawmakers as "unpatriotic" after they joined Democrats in the House of Representatives to pass a war powers resolution. The resolution, though largely symbolic, seeks to mandate an end to unauthorized military action against Iran, reflecting growing domestic anxiety over the three-month-long escalation in the region. Trump’s rhetoric underscores a deepening schism within the Republican Party as he attempts to maintain a hardline stance while facing legislative pushback from a bipartisan coalition concerned about constitutional overreach.

For Iranian observers and markets, this political infighting in Washington is more than just theater. While the Iranian Rial (USD/IRR) remained stable at 174,500 Toman this hour, the political friction signals that Trump’s "maximum pressure" or potential "grand bargain" strategies are facing internal resistance. This domestic discord often creates a vacuum of policy clarity, which can lead to sudden volatility in currency expectations. Furthermore, the Senate confirmation battle for Todd Blanche as Attorney General is expected to be an "uphill battle," further complicating the administration's ability to project a unified front on foreign policy and sanctions enforcement.

The AI Bottleneck: TSMC Struggles and the Ciena Reality Check

The technological euphoria surrounding Artificial Intelligence is hitting a significant infrastructure wall. TSMC, the world’s premier semiconductor manufacturer, has admitted it is struggling to keep pace with the insatiable demand for AI chips from American giants like Nvidia and Apple. CEO C.C. Wei noted that despite massive factory expansions in the United States, the company can "only support so much," highlighting a physical limit to the current AI boom. This supply constraint suggests that the breakneck speed of AI development may soon be throttled by the sheer inability to produce enough high-end silicon, a factor that investors are beginning to price into the broader tech market.

Adding to the sector's woes, Ciena Corporation saw its stock tumble today, dragging other optical-networking firms down with it. Investors had expected a much more significant "beat and raise" in earnings, but the results fell short of the lofty expectations set by the AI narrative. This suggests that while the demand for AI models is high, the underlying networking and data center infrastructure—the "plumbing" of the internet—is not scaling as profitably as once hoped. For the global economy, this indicates a potential cooling period for tech stocks as the market moves from speculative hype to demanding tangible delivery and scalable hardware.

Gold Gains as Bitcoin’s ‘Rally That Wasn’t’ Fades

In the financial markets, a clear rotation into safe-haven assets is underway. Gold 18k in Tehran rose from 18,752,481 to 18,954,245 Toman (+1.1%) over the last 24 hours, reflecting a broader global trend where investors are seeking shelter from geopolitical uncertainty and flailing crypto sentiment. While the USD/IRR exchange rate held steady at 174,500, the rise in gold prices suggests that local buyers are hedging against the possibility of renewed regional tensions or shifts in US policy following the House vote. Emami coins remained flat at 183,500,000 Toman, but the underlying bullion strength remains the dominant story in the Iranian domestic market.

Conversely, the cryptocurrency market is grappling with what analysts are calling "the rally that wasn’t." Bitcoin has slid approximately 14% over the past week, currently trading at $64,066. This downturn is being driven by massive ETF outflows totaling over $4.2 billion and a significant sell-off by MicroStrategy, which has historically been a primary driver of upward momentum. The cooling of the crypto market, combined with rising oil prices and macro headwinds, has dampened the "risk-on" appetite that defined the early part of the year. For Iranian investors, this divergence highlights the reliability of hard assets like gold compared to the high-volatility environment of digital currencies during periods of geopolitical friction.