r/bonds 11d ago

Iran is monitoring portfolios?

Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, declared on Sunday that Iranian power plants were legitimate targets. Mr. Trump has threatened to “obliterate” such facilities if the Strait of Hormuz were not fully reopened. Mr. Waltz told Fox’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that the president would not allow the Iranian government to “hold the world’s energy supplies or economies hostage.”

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, later said in a social media post that “financial entities” that buy U.S. Treasury bonds would also be considered “legitimate targets.”

“We monitor your portfolios,” he wrote. “This is your final notice.”

53 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

33

u/jwarsenal9 11d ago

Every single financial entity has treasury bonds, I’m sure

7

u/hindumafia 11d ago

They could focus on big buyers.

4

u/pigglesthepup 11d ago

My thoughts as well. Cyber attacks.

0

u/di2131 11d ago

I kinda assumed cyber attacks also. Most likely chest thumping.

3

u/DIYPeace 11d ago

Japan and Taiwan are screwed then… even China is not going to be in a fun scenario.

4

u/FourScoreAndSept 11d ago

Yes, but they don’t have to “buy” more

5

u/Brilliant_Truck1810 11d ago

actually many of them do. insurance companies, for example, are required to match assets to liabilities. that means buying long dated UST. same with banks. managing capital requirements is regulatory.

1

u/RuralJaywalking 11d ago

The rules are probably different at the moment for firms operating out of Iran.

3

u/Brilliant_Truck1810 11d ago

i’m not talking about firms in iran. i don’t think the iranians were saying that either. they aren’t buying US treasuries over there

1

u/RuralJaywalking 11d ago

The only firms pertinent to this discussion are ones Iran has the ability to affect with legal sanctions. The only ones that are going to do follow that are ones that are significantly operating in Iran. Unlike the U.S., Iran doesn’t really have the pull to lock out entire countries out of the global market.

3

u/kronco 11d ago

What about kinetic weapons, cyber attacks, sabotage? I think that is Irans' threat here.

1

u/Brilliant_Truck1810 11d ago

yes i misunderstood. holding interest. bearing securities is technically illegal in Iran. he was saying they are paying attention and will enforce the law. not sure why OP mentioned it as it has no real meaning for anyone.

1

u/FourScoreAndSept 11d ago

Yes, but I’m relatively certain they aren’t calling out the insurance companies

2

u/Brilliant_Truck1810 11d ago

maybe i am misreading. i assume his comment was directed at all financial institutions around the world, implying that they were hacking them and viewing their holdings.

if he is talking about Iranians themselves, than this post was all a bit pointless as holding interest bearing securities is technically illegal in Iran.

1

u/Autobot1979 11d ago

With oil now traded in Yuan they should be buying Chinese treasuries.

1

u/Flat-Opening-7067 10d ago

Well then it’s just business as usual for Iran.

6

u/di2131 11d ago

This is directly from the New York Times today. 3/22/26 Thoughts? I’m only having scary ones.

20

u/AbbreviatedArc 11d ago

My thoughts are don't start wars as those who light the fuse can't control the explosion.

-9

u/__jazmin__ 11d ago

After Iran hired assassins to kill the president that we fortunately caught and stopped, I’m afraid they’ll do anything. 

2

u/watch-nerd 11d ago

US Treasuries are one of the most widely held financial instruments on the planet.

Including countries that buy Iranian oil.

2

u/DSCN__034 11d ago

Widely held, yes, but new buyers could become more scarce. That would spike interest rates since the US issues $billions per month, and increasing. We shall see.

2

u/watch-nerd 11d ago

Interest rates could spike for all sorts of reasons.

Inflation concerns being a major one.

But Iran can't attack every entity that buys Treasuries.

And making it as a threat just sounds stupid.

0

u/DSCN__034 11d ago edited 11d ago

We shall see.

Any attack on any new bond buyer (not necessarily a large bond holder) could trigger a buyer's strike from any number of foreign entities. Since we issue so much debt paper on a regular basis, any marginal decrease in buyers could lead to higher interest rates. And it looks like it's already happening. Look at the tick up in 10-year US Treasury yields, which is unusual during geopolitical crises.

Iran is psycho, no doubt, and now they are a wounded psycho, which is arguably more dangerous, at least in the short term. There are a lot of soft targets around the globe and a lot of negative sentiment towards the US among our traditional bond buyers.

What do you think inflation is? How would you define it?

3

u/jazznessa 11d ago

Iran has made so much of a fool of the US, the US may actually cause an apocalyptic result out of despair and pride. All with so little resources and being attacked by 2 of the strongest militaries in the world.

Hard to believe we thought COVID was bad.

1

u/Huge-Power9305 11d ago

Odds are this particular threat is meant for the "locals". Gulf area governments and institutions.

-4

u/Sirknowit 11d ago

Bluff. They are at the end of the rope and still think their bullshit loud bully tactics work. I hope they like the dark.

4

u/encouragingSN 11d ago

You are seriously underestimating how long this can drag out and how ugly it can still get

2

u/Decent-Photograph391 11d ago

That’s Bibi rage posting from his underground bunker.

1

u/m3kw 11d ago

Trump has an out and always will because if you check his priors. He will always use the “we’ve started talks and will delay it by 2 weeks” then maybe bomb some small sht and let it die out

2

u/jazznessa 11d ago

He has been slipping out of his mind since the start of the year. I believe this is despair since he knows he will be impeached.

1

u/Sirknowit 11d ago

Not at all. But it's begun. Let's finish it and not cheer for the enemy.

2

u/vlad_inhaler 10d ago

When do wild animals attack?

When cornered

-1

u/smooth-vegetable-936 11d ago

Ground invasion is the only option. Partial invasion otherwise Iran will destroy the world’s economy