Context: Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of the deceased Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is Iran’s new supreme leader. In his first public statement, he called for “revenge for the martyrs” who died in the war. He did not appear on camera; instead, his appeal was read aloud on state television. Meanwhile, observers have noted that Iran has launched fewer retaliatory missile strikes against the United States and Israel than at the beginning of the war. The U.S. Secretary of Defense attributed this to the success of allied attacks on Iranian missile and launcher factories. Nevertheless, Iran continues to resist. According to Reuters, U.S. intelligence sees no signs of an impending collapse of the Iranian government.
On March 11, 2026, Ryhor Azaronak and political analyst Aliaksei Audonin discussed the progress of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran on the CTV program Azaryonok. Napryamuyu. They claimed that Tehran had found a way to inflict significant damage on the West, both militarily and economically.
“Why did Iran start hitting so systematically, not only military facilities but also civilian ones, such as hotels and some investments?” Audonin asked.
“Exactly! That’s a very interesting point. It may seem that the military forces are indeed unequal — and unequal by a wide margin,” Azaronak continued. “<...> But Iran has found the Achilles heel of capitalism. Take a look at the exchanges, funds, and trades now. Their whole system is starting to shake! <...> All of these corporations — Nvidia, Amazon, Pfizer — are losing trillions right now! Trillions!”
Indeed, Iran is trying to cause economic and military damage to its adversaries. To accomplish this, it targets their economic and banking interests in the region, among other things. Amid the ongoing war, shares of prominent corporations, including airlines, travel companies, and cruise operators, declined.
However, Azaronak and Audonin greatly exaggerated the magnitude of the stock market’s reaction. The companies listed by the presenter are generally doing better than they were a year ago. For instance, Nvidia, a major chip maker, has lost about 5% in recent weeks. However, this decline is not attributed to Iran’s strikes on American bases or the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Rather, it is caused by the overheating of the artificial intelligence market. Pfizer’s stock price had been declining even before March. This is due to the expiration of the company’s exclusive manufacturing patents for several drugs. Amazon’s share price was affected more by the company’s announcement of large infrastructure investments than by developments in the war.
It is important to note that it is the investors who bought these securities, not the companies themselves, who suffer losses from the decline in share prices. Therefore, saying that corporations are losing trillions is incorrect. Moreover, the claimed magnitude of these losses does not withstand scrutiny. With a market value of about $150 billion, it’s hard to imagine how investors could lose trillions on Pfizer’s stock price decline.
The dynamics of the main business activity indices also indicate this. During the two weeks of the war, the three major stock indices decreased by 2.5-5% (DJI, S&P 500, and IXIC). On an annual basis, this decrease appears almost imperceptible.
