Iran has accused officials from US President Donald Trump's administration of a pattern of oil market manipulation, with Tehran reportedly tying the alleged scheme to Axios reports and Trump administration insiders.
A source close to Iranian officials said Tehran has "evidence of a $9 billion insider trading operation," The Hormuz Report wrote in a post on X. At the time of writing, $9 billion equates to about £6.7 billion.
Oil markets volatile since strikes
Oil markets have been volatile since the US and Israel carried out joint strikes on several key Iranian sites earlier this year. Iran retaliated by striking sites across the Middle East and closing the critical Strait of Hormuz waterway.
About one fifth of all global oil traded passed through the waterway prior to the war. The strait has been a focus of peace talks, with the repeated opening and closing disrupting global markets.
Trades linked to Iran war announcements
Between April and May 2026, a series of oddly timed trades in oil futures markets preceded major Iran war announcements. Each of these instances are alleged to be linked to reporting by Axios.
The source tied the operation to US Special Envoy for Iran Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner.
A senior Iranian official previously told a news outlet that Tehran privately warned US Vice President JD Vance that Mr Kushner and Mr Witkoff were "abusing" negotiations and that they were "more interested in exploiting insider knowledge to profit in financial markets than reaching a deal."
Trump says talks ongoing
On Monday, August 4, Mr Trump told reporters that talks were "going on right now" and will "go quickly, one way or another". He warned: "This is the last chance for them to sign a good document."
He repeatedly grew frustrated on Monday after Iran contradicted his claim that talks were ongoing and that a deal had been reached between both sides to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with further talks to take place around Iran's nuclear programme. Iran's foreign ministry denied it was in talks with the US.
