<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/war" rel="" target="" title="The Pentagon"><span>The Pentagon</span></a><span> has vociferously denied reports that </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/peter-hegseth-declares-an-end-to-politically-correct-leadership-in-the-us-military/9962e535-5a08-4b64-9ff8-c4038ebb843d" rel="" target="" title="Secretary of War Pete Hegseth"><span>Secretary of War Pete Hegseth</span></a><span> sought to make multi-million dollar investments in defence stocks in the weeks before the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-it-takes-two-to-taco-usa-iran-war-latest-news/420dd38d-8d0a-45bf-91df-72b06326fe23" rel="" target="" title="Iran war"><span>Iran war</span></a><span> began.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.ft.com/" rel="" target="" title="The Financial Times"><em><span>The Financial Times</span></em></a><span> reported Hegseth's broker contacted investment firm BlackRock about investing in their Defense Industrials Active ETF.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Because the fund was not yet ready to take on investors, the purchase did not take place, the newspaper reported.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-signature-us-currency-dollars-money-treasurer-usa-politics-news/1e7cf4cd-6a06-48a0-a2e1-43656f80895a"><strong><span>Donald Trump to put his name on all US paper money</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell has denied the reports.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This allegation is entirely false and fabricated," Parnell said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Neither Secretary Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock about any such investment. </span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/pete-hegseth-suspicious-trades-blackrock-defence-stocks-pentagon-secretary-of-war-denial/31095d1a-7d6e-479b-96f8-e087a3a92de8" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"This is yet another baseless, dishonest smear designed to mislead the public."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-suspicious-futures-trades-treason-paul-krugman-corruption-chris-murphy/9bd90b2b-b13e-4cea-a0d3-250bc43ad3d5"><strong><span>$800m in trades before Trump announcement 'is treason'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Parnell demanded an immediate retraction.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Secretary Hegseth and the Department of War remain unwavering in their commitment to the highest standards of ethics and strict adherence to all applicable laws and regulations," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>The Financial Times</span></em><span> cited "three people familiar with the matter" in making their reporting, all anonymous.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Trump administration has been attracting scrutiny after a series of well-timed trades before major actions.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An entity or several entities traded heavily on S&amp;P 500 and oil futures minutes before a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-attacks-iran-after-donald-trumps-48hour-deadline-iran-threatens-to-start-hitting-gulf-power-plants-and-mine-waters/d86936cf-ab6f-40ae-be34-efc1f0a60a98"><span>Truth Social post</span></a><span> from </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump"><span>Donald Trump</span></a><span> sent markets swinging earlier this month.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-florida-election-results-mar-a-lago-emily-gregory-us-politics-news/70f84489-55ba-4d49-a33f-0c8937c953b9"><strong><span>Trump on shaky ground after Democrats win Mar-a-Lago seat</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In the space of a minute, more than $800 million in trades was made on oil futures.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And whoever made those trades made an incredible amount of money.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Betting app Kalshi has refused to pay out $77 million in winnings to punters who bet </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-strike-on-iran-supreme-leader-ayatollah-ali-khamenei/14563354-250d-40b4-8330-645799b4e899"><span>Ayatollah Ali Khamenei</span></a><span> would be out of office by March 1.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-look-at-who-holds-the-reins-of-power-since-top-leaders-killed/d6f20e94-8a21-4e53-9a57-876cd188306f"><span>Khamenei was killed by a US and Israeli bombing strike</span></a><span> hours before the deadline was reached.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile on Polymarket, 150 accounts bet more than a million dollars that the US would strike Iran the next day.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And in January, </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/nicolas-maduro-venezuela-usa-bet-polymarket/c60cad67-00c6-4e34-846d-b95053d7f832"><span>a Polymarket user made about $570,000</span></a><span> betting that </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/who-is-nicolas-maduro-from-bus-driver-to-venezuela-president-captured-by-us/5f70af86-f6ad-43f2-8254-6af8ba64fafb"><span>Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro</span></a><span> would be out of office before the end of the month.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They had doubled down on their bet hours before the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/venezuela-explosions-reported-in-capital-caracas/79b4f99d-181e-4fc5-8ddb-f5a48d197d22"><span>US seized the leader in a military strike</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-it-takes-two-to-taco-usa-iran-war-latest-news/420dd38d-8d0a-45bf-91df-72b06326fe23" rel="" target="" title="It takes two to TACO: Why Trump can't end war with Iran by himself"><strong><span>It takes two to TACO: Why Trump can't end war with Iran by himself</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><strong><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.</span></em></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><ul><li><strong><em><span>Download the 9NEWS App here via</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a></li><li><strong><em><span>Make 9News your preferred 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