CFTC Staff Were Told to Retract Analysis of Suspicious Oil Trades

CFTC staff members were instructed to retract an analysis of suspicious oil trades linked to Iran, according to a report. The analysis, which was prepared by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) staff, found that the trades appeared to be manipulated by an Iranian government-connected entity. The CFTC staff were told to retract the analysis after it was approved by the agency's chairman, Rostin Behnam, but before it was published. The retraction was reportedly due to concerns about the potential impact on US-Iran relations. The report did not specify the exact nature of the concerns or who gave the order to retract the analysis.