**[U.S. Oil and Gas Executives Cash Out Nearly $400 Million as Iran War Drives Up Energy Stocks]** BlockBeats reports on July 29, citing *The New York Times*, that since the outbreak of the Iran war, which has tightened energy supplies and driven up oil and gas prices, executives at several major U.S. oil and gas companies have profited hundreds of millions of dollars by selling company stock. The environmental organization *Friends of the Earth* analyzed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure filings and found that since the war began, insiders at U.S. fossil fuel companies have cumulatively sold nearly $400 million worth of stock. Among them, ConocoPhillips executives sold the most, totaling approximately $96 million, followed by executives from natural gas exporters Cheniere Energy and Venture Global. The report noted that the recent scale of stock sales by executives at these three companies has already surpassed their total sales for the entire year of 2025. For instance, ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance sold nearly $80 million worth of stock in March this year through two transactions. Similarly, Cheniere Energy executives sold shares around the time the company’s stock price hit a new high. Analysts pointed out that the rise in oil and gas company stock prices is directly linked to the surge in energy prices, and executives cashing out at high stock prices aligns with market incentive logic. However, critics argue that part of the profit growth for these companies stems from higher energy costs caused by geopolitical conflicts, with the resulting financial burden ultimately borne by consumers. As a result, there have been calls to impose a "windfall tax" on energy companies. Currently, proposals to levy a windfall tax on the energy sector in the U.S. have yet to gain support from the Republican Party. [*Original Link*]