Gold rate today, March 3 -- Gold prices extended gains on Tuesday as investors seek safety amid rapidly escalating tensions in West Asia. Coordinated military strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran have rattled global markets, triggering a classic flight to safe-haven assets.

The situation worsened after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz - a critical chokepoint for global oil supply. Tehran also reportedly launched retaliatory strikes on US-linked assets across multiple neighboring countries including the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq and Syria.

With fears of a prolonged and multi-front conflict rising, gold has surged back above the $5,300 ma...