The Pentagon on Monday denied a report alleging that a broker linked to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to invest in defense companies ahead of recent military action against Iran.

"This allegation is entirely false and fabricated," spokesman Sean Parnell said on US social media company X, sharing the report by the Financial Times.

Earlier, citing three people familiar with ⁠the matter, the Financial Times reported that Hegseth's broker at Morgan Stanley contacted ⁠BlackRock in February about making a ⁠multimillion-dollar investment in the asset manager's Defense Industrials Active ETF.

Parnell said neither Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock about any such investment.

"This is yet another baseless, dishonest smear designed to mislead the public. We demand an immediate retraction," he said.

He added Hegseth and the Pentagon "remain unwavering in their commitment to the highest standards of ethics and strict adherence to all applicable laws and regulations."