Fact Check: Did Eric Trump invest in drone maker shortly before Iran war?
WASHINGTON, DC: On February 28, the US and Israel launched a large-scale surprise airstrike campaign on Iran. This included hundreds of strikes on Iranian military sites, air defenses, missile facilities, nuclear-related infrastructure, and leadership targets, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and numerous senior officials.
In March, a rumor circulated online claiming that President Donald Trump's son, Eric Trump, had invested in a drone company just before the start of the US-Iran war. But is there any truth to this? Let us find out below.
Claim: Eric Trump invested in drone maker shortly before Iran war
The rumor spread on Facebook, where a post read, "The president's son invested in a war drone company 11 days before the U.S. launched a war that uses those exact drones."
"Eric Trump invested in XTEND, an Israeli AI drone and autonomous weapons company, as part of a $1.5 billion merger deal announced on February 17, 2026. Eleven days later, the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Iran in what became the largest use of one-way attack drones in US military history," the post added.
The post further mentioned, "Critics say the investments raise conflict-of-interest concerns, given that the president oversees the military while the Pentagon increases drone spending. Eric Trump called drones 'the wave of the future'."
Similarly, another post read, "So let's recap: The President oversees the US military. The US military is increasing drone warfare spending. The President's son invests in a drone warfare company with Pentagon contracts. That company is about to go public in a billion-dollar deal. And we're supposed to believe this is all just a coincidence?"
Fact Check: True, companies announced the merger
The claims made in the online posts are true, as Eric Trump invested in the merger of Israeli company XTEND and JFB Construction Holdings, a US construction company, according to an official statement on the website of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The companies announced the merger on February 17, around 11 days before the US-Israel strikes on Iran began.
Moreover, another investor in the merger was US drone maker Unusual Machines, which in 2024 announced Eric Trump's brother, Donald Trump Jr, was joining the advisory board and that he had already invested in Unusual Machines.
Interestingly, the merger's value was of $1.5 billion, the statement by XTEND and JFB Construction Holdings said, and strategic investors included Eric Trump as well as Unusual Machines, with ties to Donald Trump Jr.
In November 2024, Unusual Machines announced that Donald Trump Jr was joining its advisory board.
Meanwhile, a March 20 statement announcing the company was seeking to raise capital through a new public offering was evidence that Trump Jr was still involved with the company at the time the merger was announced.
