Iran's secret network of 5,000 agencies helped import $2 billion in military supplies despite US blockade: Report

Iran has allegedly built a vast network of more than 5,000 secret military-linked agencies to procure weapons-related equipment explosives and heavy-duty vehicles from across the world, all while bypassing the United States naval blockade and western sanctions, a news agency Reuters investigation has revealed.This network reportedly facilitated imports worth $2 billion since January 2025, helping Tehran access materials critical for its missile and drone programmes. (AP Photo)According to the report, this network has facilitated imports worth $2 billion since January 2025, helping Tehran access materials critical for its missile and drone programmes even as its military infrastructure came under attack during the ongoing war with America.The investigation has revealed a network of more than 5,000 agencies operating under names beginning with MOD, short for Iran's ministry of defence. The secret agencies all share the same Tehran address, that of Iran's ministry of defence and armed forces logistics, or MODAFL.Also Read | Top Pentagon military planner fired by Hegseth admitted sharing classified information on Iran, Ukraine with reporters: ReportThe findings come against the backdrop of the conflict in West Asia, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February this year. Iran retaliated with attacks on US bases and interests in Gulf countries, and subsequently blocked navigation through Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for energy imports before the war. The US imposed a naval blockade aimed at restricting Iran's maritime trade and limiting its ability to export oil and access supplies.Inside Iran's secret networkThe investigation by Reuters, which is based on thousands of Iranian bank and government records, corporate filings and import data, allegedly exposes how foreign intermediaries and shell companies helped Iran sustain its military supply chain.The financial footprints of the network were present on bills of lading and other shipping data dating back to 2016. Some of these were linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and to business conglomerates known as bonyads, which are controlled by Iran's elite.The IRGC links emerged as phone numbers registered to 91 agencies also appeared in Bank Sepah records linked to Islamic Guard personnel. The agencies list their incorporation date as February 11, 1979, the day former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in Iran after overthrowing monarchy. However, most of these were established in 2013, when Iran was struggling with international sanctions which led to a plunge in its crude exports and currency. These agencies have been identified for the first time by Reuters.How is Iran bypassing US blockade and sanctions?The agencies highlighted in the investigation allegedly operate a network of front-men and foreign shell companies, who are collectively known as trustees. These trustees procure military hardware using proceeds from illicit oil sales. To be sure, Reuters' findings largely pertain to military components, raw materials and equipment imported by Iran, not finished missiles and drones.Therefore, according to Reuters, these secret agencies have formed a foreign-trade system parallel to Iran's formal global economy. This hidden network allows Iran to spend the money it earns abroad selling illicit oil on military hardware, Miad Maleki, a former senior official at the US treasure department, told Reuters.Also Read | US forces in Middle East ready to launch ‘a big effort’ in Iran after November midterm elections: ReportMaleki was one of four experts on Iranian sanctions and weapons who reviewed the Reuters findings.Among the significant findings of the report is that in these imports, money rarely crosses borders, thus bypassing sanctions. For 97% of the shipments reviewed by Reuters, the transactions were settled “without currency transfer”, according to import data. This implies that the trustees could have used cash held in foreign banks, bought goods, and shipped them home, Reuters reported.China, Russia, Germany among countries linked to importsThe military hardware being procured from the hidden network was taken to Iran by land, sea and air, and much of it was recorded as originating in China, Russia and Germany.The material allegedly entered Iran by cargo ship across the Caspian Sea from Russia, by truck from Central Asia, and by freight planes from China, Reuters reported citing reviewed documents. The import data also shows $27 million worth of goods purchased by Iran’s military originating from the United Arab Emirates. Nearly all of these came by sea.What materials are being imported?This secret weapons import network has reportedly provided several of the raw materials Iran needs to make drones and missiles. According to experts cited by Reuters, much of this material, including explosives, could be considered dual-use, and could have civilian purposes.Import data reviewed by Reuters shows that in the during the first half of this year, deliveries included $1.9 million worth of detonators, tonnes of explosives, aircraft engine parts, rocket fuel ingredients and heavy-duty launch vehicles. Besides individual components, the purchases also include items coded as sophisticated computer-controlled lathes, electron-beam furnaces and particle accelerators, according to import data that runs to June.All of these have industrial purposes and can also be used to make military equipment, including drone and missile bodies.Also Read | JD Vance reaches out to Iranian hardliner for talks amid fresh war threats: ReportMOD 346428: Key agency behind importsThe Reuters investigation specifically mentions an agency identified as MOD 346428, which imported $2.3 billion of military hardware between January 2025 and June 2026, according to ImportGenius, a platform that aggregates import-export data.In 18 months, this agency imported huge quantities of rocket propellants, explosives and weapons components critical for manufacturing drones and missiles. Its overseas purchases steadily increased over the years, from $442 million in 2023 to $988 million the following year, according to customs statistics published in Iranian media. Between the above-mentioned time period, MOD 346428 imported 886 tonnes of chemicals into Iran's port of Bandar Abbas.It also imported heavy-duty trucks that can serve as missile launchers. These include 435 Iveco trucks between January 2025 and June 2026, and thousands of Toyota Hilux and Land Cruiser trucks, which the IRGC and its proxies allegedly modify to mount heavy machine guns on the flat, Reuters reported.