An Iranian Official Is Challenging Trump Market Moves on Social Media
NEWS | 31 March 2026
President Trump may have some competition on the social-media front. Trump has become known for posts that can move the market depending on whether he deescalates the Iran-war situation, or adds to existing tensions. The market is always watching his account for cues. But recently, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, has entered the fray. In an X post on Sunday, he acknowledged Trump's tendency to respond to market moves, and advised investors how to position: Heads-up: Pre-market so-called “news” or “Truth” is often just a setup for profit-taking. Basically, it’s a reverse indicator. Do the opposite: If they pump it, short it. If they dump it, go long. See something tomorrow? You know the drill. — محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) March 29, 2026 For his part, Trump did end up publishing a market-moving Truth Social post about negotiations on Monday before the open. The tone of it was unabashedly positive, and stocks responded in kind, opening strongly higher. By Ghalibaf's logic, this increase is ripe for a reversal, and represents a selling opportunity. As of 11 a.m. ET on Monday the move in US indexes was still positive, but pared from earlier highs. @realDonaldTrump Truth Social Not the Iranian official's first rodeo This isn't the first time that Ghalibaf posted about Trump's comments on negotiations moving markets. The Monday prior, Trump posted about "productive" talks with Iran which sent US equities higher and oil prices lower. The S&P 500 ended the week lower and oil prices higher despite Trump's efforts. Ghalibaf, who is among the de facto leaders in Iran after the US and Israel-led assassinations of Iranian politicians, took to X following Trump's post and denied that conversations had happened and allege market manipulation. "Fake news is intended to manipulate financial and oil markets and to escape the quagmire in which America and Israel are trapped," he wrote. Ghalibaf followed up on March 27 with more criticism and another mention of "fake news": They’ve spammed so much fake news trying to push energy prices down that the market’s just numb now. Keep going, nobody’s buying it anymore. The real prices will show up anyway. Powerful? Maybe. But Smart? Not even close. Burned that fake news card way too early. — محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) March 27, 2026 While Ghalibaf doesn't post as often as Trump, he is getting attention from some elite pundits. Marko Kolanovic, former quant head at JPMorgan, interacted with a tweet mentioning his posts. Meanwhile, Citrini — the research firm behind the hypothetical AI doomsday scenario that rattled investors last month — joked "This is my quant" in a quote post of Ghalibaf's initial post.
Author: Naomi Buchanan.
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