The Financial Times reported that a broker for U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tried to invest millions in defense companies before the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran. The broker, from Morgan Stanley, contacted BlackRock in February about buying shares in their Defense Industrials Active ETF. This happened just before the U.S. launched military action against Tehran.
However, the investment did not go ahead because the fund was not yet available to buy through Morgan Stanley at that time. The report did not clarify how much authority the broker had or if Hegseth knew about the attempt.
The Pentagon denied the story, calling it false. A spokesperson for the Department of Defense said the allegations were fabricated and demanded a retraction.
This comes as part of a broader investigation into trades made in financial markets before major U.S. policy decisions under President Donald Trump. Some have speculated that certain bets were timed to take advantage of leaked information.