“So sick”: War profiteer stocks surge as Iran launches missiles at Israel

On Tuesday, as Israel initiated a ground invasion of Lebanon and Iran launched numerous ballistic missiles toward Tel Aviv and other targets, stocks of companies profiting from war surged. This mirrored the response on Wall Street nearly a year ago when Israel launched its assault on Gaza.

Prem Thakker from Zeteo highlighted the stock performance of three major American defense contractors—Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and RTX (formerly known as Raytheon). Thakker noted that these stocks were rising “while the wider market is down today.” Similarly, CNBC attributed the day’s market trends to “growing tensions in the Middle East,” with U.S. defense contractor L3Harris Technologies seeing its stock rise by 3%.

In response to Thakker’s comments on social media, U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) called the trend “so sick.” Tlaib further pointed out that members of Congress are allowed to hold stock in companies that manufacture weapons, which means they can personally profit when they vote to send more bombs or deploy troops to war zones. Tlaib, a consistent critic of war, especially Israel’s recent actions, condemned these conflicts.

Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, has described Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza—launched in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack on Israel—as genocidal. Israel is currently facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice. As of Tuesday, officials in Gaza, which is governed by Hamas, reported that 41,638 Palestinians had been killed, with 96,460 others injured. Thousands more remain missing amidst the rubble of Gaza’s devastated civilian infrastructure.

In addition to its offensive in Gaza, which has included bombing and starving Palestinians, Israel has provoked fears of a wider regional war. These concerns were heightened by Israel’s July assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran, Iran’s capital, and its recent escalations in Lebanon, which is home to Hezbollah, a political and paramilitary group.

On Tuesday, the White House stated that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the upcoming November election, were “monitoring the Iranian attack against Israel from the White House Situation Room” and were receiving frequent updates from their national security team. President Biden instructed the U.S. military to support Israel in its defense against Iranian missile strikes and to intercept missiles targeting Israel.

Meanwhile, criticism of the U.S.’s unwavering support for Israel’s right-wing government is increasing in Congress. On Tuesday, Sludge reported that some lawmakers are poised to benefit financially from defense companies that are thriving due to the violence and instability in the Middle East. Sludge cited a report from co-founder David Moore, who revealed that “at least 50 members of Congress or other members of their households hold stock in defense contractors,” companies that receive hundreds of billions of dollars annually through Pentagon appropriations legislation crafted by Congress.

“The total value of the federal lawmakers’ defense contractor stock holdings could be as much as $10.9 million,” Moore wrote, after analyzing 2023 financial disclosures and stock trades. Moore also noted that the most widely held defense contractor stock among senators and representatives is Honeywell. This American company manufactures sensors and guiding devices currently being used by the Israeli military in its airstrikes on Gaza.

With input from Commondreams.org.