President Donald Trump’s administration has been accused of waging war against Iran on Israel’s behalf. Israel had made no secret of its determination to draw the United States into such a confrontation, having failed to persuade previous US administrations to do so. Since then, countries across the region have borne the consequences of the war’s repercussions and of Trump’s decisions relating to it, whether in their regional relations, the broader regional security environment, or even the internal security and stability of some states. The equation surrounding the war against Iran appears even more complex when viewed through the prism of Trump’s character. Coming from the world of business and finance, he is far more adept at striking deals and maximising economic gains than at relying on conventional approaches to politics and diplomacy. The convergence of these factors raises a fundamental question: were Trump’s decisions during the war driven solely by political considerations, or did his personal and economic interests also help shape them, at the expense of the region’s stability?

The data show that Trump’s statements and decisions concerning the war on Iran, as well as the ceasefires associated with it, affected market movements and trends. A number of defence companies benefited, and their share prices rose at the outset of the war.

The data show that Trump’s statements and decisions concerning the war on Iran, as well as the ceasefires associated with it, affected market movements and trends. A number of defence companies benefited, and their share prices rose at the outset of the war.

Escalation, or threats of strikes against Iran, also drove up oil prices and the shares of energy companies, affecting the stock-price indices of airlines, transport companies and technology firms. Conversely, promoting ceasefires and negotiations pushed down energy shares while lifting the shares of companies operating in other sectors.

Trump holds shares in defence, technology and energy companies whose performance is affected by his decisions concerning the course of the war on Iran.

Trump holds shares in defence, technology and energy companies whose performance is affected by his decisions concerning the course of the war on Iran.

Trump maintains a formal and publicly disclosed financial relationship with the stock market, one that he did not relinquish upon taking office, unlike the practice followed by the presidents who preceded him. At the beginning of his first presidential term, the Office of Government Ethics recommended that Trump divest himself of financial interests that conflicted with his presidential responsibilities. The seven presidents who served before him, following the enactment of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which requires presidents to disclose their financial interests and transactions, either sold assets that conflicted with their official duties or placed them in a blind trust, with no knowledge whatsoever of its transactions throughout their time in........

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