Mumbai, June 14 -- Global markets, including India's benchmark indices, have been rattled by escalating geopolitical tensions as Israel launched airstrikes early Friday targeting Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure. The strikes reportedly came in response to Iran being on the brink of developing nuclear weapons, amplifying the instability across West Asia and fuelling fears about oil prices remaining stubbornly high. The Israel-Iran conflict has sent Brent crude prices soaring above $75 a barrel, stoking fears of inflationary pressure driving up input costs and threatening the profitability of Indian companies. Brent crude surpassed $78 per barrel on Friday before retreating from its peak. Still, prices have surged 8% over the past two sessions. Market participants are also worried that the intensifying conflict could force the Reserve Bank of India to hit the brakes on more rate cuts or abandon them altogether. RBI has gradually cut its policy repo rate from 6.25% at the beginning of this year to 5.5% recently, its lowest since August 2022. According to Madhavi Arora, chief economist at Emkay Global Financial Services, "every $10 per barrel increase in oil leads to an annualised gain of 35 basis points in CPI (consumer price index-based) inflation". Amid rising uncertainty, investors are making a beeline for traditional safe havens like gold, with the yellow metal up 4% in the past two sessions, crossing the crucial Rs1 lakh-mark on Friday. The 10-year-bond yield remained largely flat on Friday, inching up 1 basis point to 6.36%. However, the rupee weakened in early trade, with experts pointing to interventions by RBI to stem losses. Rupee closed at 86.09 per dollar, down 49 paise....