Tehran says Trump’s peace talk claims are ‘fake news’
US President Donald Trump announced that discussions are ongoing with Iran to “determine whether a broader agreement can be reached”, saying that “this time, Iran means business; they want to settle. They want peace”.
But Tehran denied that talks with the US are taking place, with Iran’s parliamentary speaker saying such claims are “fake news” and being “used to manipulate financial and oil markets”.
Israel issues new missile threat alert
Israel’s air defence system has been activated after the military detected new incoming missiles from Iran, the military said in a message posted on Telegram.
“In the past few minutes, the Home Front Command has sent a precautionary directive directly to mobile phones in the relevant areas,” the military said.
The military has directed the public to enter a protected space and remain there until further notice.
Insider trading concerns as traders bet $580m ahead of Trump’s Iran talks comments: Report
The Financial Times reports that traders bet more than half a billion dollars on oil futures in the 15 minutes before US President Donald Trump announced yesterday that the US had held two days of “very good and productive conversations” with Iran.
Oil futures are contracts that buy and sell oil at a pre-determined price. They are used as a hedge against price volatility because they lock in oil at a certain price, but contracts are also traded on the market.
Analysis of Bloomberg data shows that 6,200 Brent and West Texas Intermediate oil contracts were traded between 6.49 am and 6.50 am New York time (10:49 and 10:50 GMT) – just 15 minutes before Trump’s announcement, the FT said.
Traders likely made a fortune from the trading, although the exact number is unknown.
Trump’s TruthSocial post – shared on Monday morning local time and immediately denied by Tehran – sent the price of oil tumbling, triggering a global sell-off in oil.
The FT said the high volume of trade so close to Trump’s announcement has raised eyebrows in the financial world. It also follows a slew of recent high-profile betting on sites such as Polymarket that have been timed extraordinarily close to major White House decisions – raising questions of insider trading.
“My gut from watching markets for the last 25 years is this is really abnormal,” a portfolio manager told the UK newspaper.
“It’s an unusually large trade for a day with no event risk… Somebody just got a lot richer,” the manager said.
Senior Iran parliament member urges caution amid reported talks with US
Iranian officials “need to think wisely” before entering into any talks with the US, a senior Iran parliament member warned, citing Washington’s recent history of launching attacks on Tehran while talks to achieve peace were in progress.
“This is not the first time they have lied about negotiations,” Esmaeil Kowsari, a member of Iran parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee, was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.
“Trump, Netanyahu and their ilk are inherently liars and their nature is to sow division,” Kowsari said.
“Their nature is to create division so that they can make people sceptical of the authorities and feel that something has been done, when nothing has been done,” said Kowsari, who is also a major general in the military.
South Korean currency recovers slightly after plunging to 17-year low
South Korea’s won currency gained 1.7 percent against the US dollar on Tuesday, recovering from a 17-year low in the previous trading session, amid growing optimism for a resolution the conflict in the Middle East.
Monday’s level marked the weakest showing for the won against the US dollar since March 9, 2009, when the won plummeted during the global financial crisis, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency noted.
Pentagon closes news offices after judge throws out Trump’s credential rules
The US Department of Defense has announced it will remove media offices from the Pentagon after a district court threw out the Trump administration’s new credential system for reporting.
Last year, the Trump administration set new rules that reporters must sign a document promising not to publish classified information or solicit any information not authorised by the Pentagon to obtain their press credentials.
The new system was struck down on Friday following a successful lawsuit from The New York Times that argued it violated reporters’ freedom of speech.
Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the Pentagon would be closing its famous “Correspondents’ Corridor” and moving press offices to an unnamed annex.
Reporters can still attend news conferences and visit the building for interviews, but they will need to be escorted by officials while in the building.
