Iran Easily Bypasses Sanctions to Import Weapons Worth Billions - ProPakistani

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has imported $2.3 billion worth of military hardware through a secret network of procurement agencies since January 2025, using global trade channels to bypass Western sanctions and sustain its weapons programs, a Reuters investigation has found.

The investigation identified more than 5,000 agencies linked to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), which reportedly operate through a network of foreign intermediaries, front companies, and financial channels.

The system has enabled Iran to procure explosives, rocket fuel ingredients, weapons components, industrial machinery, and heavy-duty trucks despite sanctions and a US naval blockade.

The findings offer insight into how Iran has continued replenishing its missile and drone arsenals during the ongoing war, even as the United States and Israel have targeted its military facilities.

A military procurement agency identified as MOD 346428 imported $2.3 billion worth of hardware between January 2025 and June 2026.

The purchases included rocket propellants, explosives, weapons components, aircraft engine parts, and heavy-duty trucks that can be adapted for use as mobile missile launchers.

The agency reportedly received goods through land, sea, and air routes, with shipments recorded as originating in China, Russia, Germany, and other countries.

Its import activity has expanded significantly in recent years. According to customs statistics published in Iranian media, purchases rose from $442 million in the 12 months ending March 2023 to $988 million the following year, placing the agency among Iran’s top 10 importers.

The investigation was conducted by Reuters in collaboration with 240 Analytics, a risk consultancy that identified the agencies through Iranian bank records, government documents, corporate filings, and import data.

The agencies reportedly share the same Tehran address as Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics and use names beginning with “MOD,” followed by five- or six-digit numbers.

Although most list their incorporation date as February 11, 1979, the day Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini came to power, records indicate that many were actually established in 2013, when Iran faced mounting sanctions and a sharp decline in crude oil exports and currency value.

The network reportedly relies on foreign intermediaries and shell companies, known as trustees, to purchase goods using proceeds from illicit oil sales.

Transactions rarely involve money crossing international borders. In 97% of the shipments reviewed, payments were recorded as settled “without currency transfer,” with intermediaries using funds held in foreign banks to purchase and ship goods to Iran.

The investigation also found that the agencies’ identifiers appeared on shipping documents, invoices, and bank accounts, making the network traceable despite the use of front companies.

The procurement network has supplied Iran with materials that can be used in missile and drone production.

Between January and April 2025, MOD 346428 imported 886 tonnes of chemicals into Bandar Abbas, with the goods listed as originating in China. The chemicals included sodium chlorates and other perchlorates, which can be used as precursors for solid rocket fuel.

The investigation also identified imports of precision machinery, including computer-controlled lathes, electron-beam furnaces, and particle accelerators. These have industrial applications but can also be used to manufacture military equipment, including drone and missile bodies.

The agency has also imported hundreds of Iveco trucks and thousands of Toyota Hilux and Land Cruiser vehicles. Iran has displayed such vehicles in parades and uses them to transport equipment and, in some cases, mount weapons systems.

Reuters tracked some imported Iveco trucks to a customs yard near Tehran using satellite imagery, social media footage, and vehicle identification numbers.

Iveco said it had no control over products transferred or exported by third parties with which it had no direct contractual relationship. Toyota said it did not conduct business in Iran and had no knowledge of the purchases identified in the investigation.

Iran’s military procurement activity continued after the war began on February 28, 2026, and despite the US naval blockade.

Import volumes initially declined by 47 percent to $54 million in March, compared with the previous month, but increased to $77 million by May.

A shipment in June 2026 included $1.9 million worth of Russian detonators, which can be used to trigger explosives in drone and missile warheads. The investigation identified five similar Russian shipments since the start of 2025, totaling $7.6 million.

The data also showed that $27 million worth of goods purchased by the IRGC since the war began were recorded as originating in the United Arab Emirates, with nearly all arriving by sea.

The most recent shipment from the UAE, listed as electronics, arrived on June 27, nine days after the United States announced it was suspending its naval blockade. The blockade resumed in mid-July.

Miad Maleki, a former senior US Treasury official who helped design the American sanctions program against Iran, described the network as a critical part of the country’s military trade infrastructure.

He said the system allowed Iran to use proceeds from overseas oil sales to purchase military hardware while limiting the movement of money across borders.

Weapons and sanctions experts who reviewed the Reuters findings said many of the imported materials could be used in Iran’s missile and drone programs, although some also have civilian applications.

The investigation found that the numbered agencies had not been identified as sanctioned entities by Western governments, despite the sanctions imposed on the IRGC.

Reuters said it cross-checked a portion of approximately 19,000 import records against shipping documents, social media footage, and state media reports. The investigation noted that not all records contained detailed shipment descriptions and that some declared origins and contents could not be independently confirmed.

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