The safe-haven Japanese yen hit a three-month high on Monday, while gold soared as increasing tensions between Iran and the United States sent investors scurrying to less risky assets. The United States detected a heightened state of alert by Iran's missile forces, while President Donald Trump warned of a "major retaliation" if Iran hit back. Iraq's parliament on Sunday recommended all foreign troops be ordered out of the country and Iran said it would abandon limits on uranium enrichment, after the U.S. killing of a top Iranian commander and an Iraqi militia leader in Baghdad. The yen , regarded as a haven in times of market turmoil by virtue of Japan's status as the world's biggest creditor, rose 0.3% to 107.82 per dollar early in Asian trade, its strongest since October 2019. The dollar gained against riskier currencies such as the Aussie and the kiwi . Against a basket of currencies (DXY) the greenback steadied at 96.827. The attack carried U.S.-Iranian hostilities into uncharted waters and stoked concern about a major conflagration. The European Union, Britain and Oman, meanwhile, urged the two sides to make diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis.