War. Motown singer Edwin Starr claimed it was nothing but a heartbreaker and good news only for the undertaker. But another group rubbing their hands at increased tensions with Iran are military contractors, who saw their stock prices soar at the increased chance of conflict.

Lockheed Martin, famous for its fighter planes, helicopters and missiles, saw its stock price spike to over $416, a jump of seven percent almost overnight. Other defense corporations like Raytheon and General Dynamics saw similar increases in their companies' value. Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman saw a nine percent rise in its share price, as the stock market rushed to buy a piece of a highly profitable company.

On January 3, the United States carried out a successful assassination attempt of Lt. General Qassem Soleimani via drone, as the Iranian officer and statesman left Baghdad airport to join a peace mission between Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi revealed that President Trump had personally thanked him for organizing peace efforts, even as he was planning the assassination attempt, giving him the mistaken belief that the U.S. gave its blessing to the event and would not attack the Iranian General. Soleimani, respected and admired as a capable and dynamic soldier, was widely considered to be one of the most powerful and influential men in Iran behind Ayatollah Khamenei. The move is almost universally expected to increase tensions in the Middle East, prompting potential wars or other "chaos."