In the ancient calculus of oil and power, markets once again absorbed a tremor from the Persian Gulf — this time, tensions with Iran sent prices lurching before traders steadied their nerve and crude retreated to familiar ground. Yet the calm that followed is less a resolution than a pause, as the structural pressures beneath the surface remain unresolved. Analysts caution that what markets can endure as a sprint may prove far more costly as a marathon, and that geopolitical risk has moved from the margins of energy pricing to its very center.