Stocks hit as tensions escalate in Middle East

European shares slipped from near-record highs after the US airstrike in Iraq that killed a top Iranian commander increased tensions in the Middle East and spurred moves out of risk assets, while an oil-price surge hammered airline stocks.

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed harsh revenge after Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, architect of the country’s spreading military influence in the Middle East, was killed in the airstrike at Baghdad Airport.