White House Warns Staff Against Iran War Profiteering

(MENAFN) The White House has put staff on notice against exploiting classified intelligence from the ongoing Iran war to profit in financial markets, multiple news organizations reported Thursday, drawing on accounts from unnamed administration officials — as suspicious trading patterns around key policy decisions continue to fuel scrutiny from lawmakers and ethics experts alike.

The warning arrives against a backdrop of federal law that already prohibits government employees from gambling on official premises and bars the use of non-public information for personal financial gain. Yet a pattern of well-timed market movements immediately preceding major policy announcements by US President Donald Trump has prompted mounting questions over whether sensitive information has been leaking from within the administration.

According to reports, the White House Management Office circulated an internal warning email on March 24 — one day after Trump ordered a five-day halt to planned strikes targeting Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure. One official, speaking to the Wall Street Journal — which first reported the email's existence — characterized it as a routine "reminder" issued in the context of unusually large market activity, stressing that no evidence of leaks or misuse of insider information has emerged.

The numbers surrounding the policy reversal, however, have proven difficult to dismiss. Citing market data, multiple outlets reported that futures markets experienced a dramatic spike in trading volume roughly 15 minutes before the halt was publicly announced — with more than $760 million in oil futures contracts exchanging hands in under two minutes. Separately, three accounts on the prediction platform Polymarket reportedly netted a combined $600,000 after accurately forecasting the timing of this week's ceasefire with Tehran.

The revelations have drawn sharp condemnation from Trump's political opponents. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal argued that prediction markets have effectively transformed armed conflict into a speculative gambling arena, warning that such platforms create fertile ground for insider trading and sensitive intelligence leaks. In March, Blumenthal introduced legislation targeting fraud and abuse in the rapidly expanding prediction market sector, proposing regulatory guardrails for platforms including Kalshi, Polymarket, and PredictIt.

The controversy is part of a broader pattern that has drawn increasing media attention. Reuters reported in January that an unidentified trader pocketed approximately $410,000 after placing a wager on the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Separately, reports surfaced of users based in Israel placing bets on Iranian missile strikes against Israeli territory — with some cases allegedly involving deliberate attempts to manipulate related media coverage in order to sway betting outcomes.

Polymarket itself was forced to issue a public apology earlier this month following widespread backlash over its decision to host wagers on whether American airmen from a downed US fighter jet would be rescued from Iran.

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