A broker for US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth attempted to make a big investment in major defence companies in the weeks leading up to the US-Israeli attack on Iran, the Financial Times has reported according to Reuters, citing three people familiar with the matter.

Hegseth’s broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February, about making a multimillion-dollar investment in the asset manager’s Defence Industrials Active ETF, shortly before the US launched military action against Tehran, the report added.

According to the FT report, the investment discussed by Hegseth’s broker did not ultimately go ahead as the fund, which launched in May last year, was not yet available for Morgan Stanley clients to buy.