Axios' Middle East correspondent Barak Ravid on Thursday rejected allegations that his outlet coordinated with market insiders ahead of a major exclusive on a US-Iran peace deal, calling the claims "complete and utter bullshit,"
Ravid responded after an unusual trading activity in crude oil markets minutes before the story broke triggered widespread accusations of insider trading.
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The allegations stem from a striking sequence of events. At 3:40 am on Wednesday, nearly 10,000 crude oil contracts worth approximately $920 million were placed as short positions — a bet that oil prices would fall — with no major news at the time to explain the trade, according to The Kobeissi Letter, a financial newsletter.
At 4:50 am, just 70 minutes later, Ravid published an exclusive report saying the White House believed it was close to a one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding with Iran to end the war. By 7:00 am, oil prices had fallen 12%, and whoever held those short positions had made an estimated $125 million.
The Hormuz Letter posted on X that "several whistleblowers say that Axios coordinated news with market insiders, leaking CME order information via phone calls up to 30 minutes before market open and close prints."
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It also cited Iranian political analyst Mohammad Marandi as claiming that Trump, his envoy Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner "profited heavily in the past hours from fake news provided to Axios." Both claims remain unverified.
Ravid, who reported the story, responded directly on X, dismissing the accusations in full. Axios has not issued a formal statement yet.
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