Iran has used a vast network of more than 5,000 secret military-linked agencies to import at least $2 billion worth of hardware, explosives and heavy-duty trucks since January 2025, evading Western sanctions and continuing supplies even during the US naval blockade, a Reuters investigation has found.
The network, operating under names linked to Iran’s Ministry of Defence, has helped replenish supplies for the country’s missile and drone programmes. Its imports reportedly included rocket fuel ingredients, explosives, aircraft engine parts, precision machinery and vehicles that can be converted into mobile missile launchers.
Reuters, working with Israeli-American risk consultancy 240 Analytics, examined thousands of Iranian bank and government records, corporate filings and import documents. The investigation identified more than 5,000 agencies sharing the same Tehran address as the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics.
One agency, identified as MOD 346428, imported $2.3 billion worth of military hardware between January 2025 and June 2026, according to data reviewed by Reuters. Its purchases included 435 Iveco trucks, thousands of Toyota vehicles and materials that could be used to manufacture missiles and drones.
The agency also imported chemicals associated with solid rocket fuel production, including sodium chlorates and perchlorates. In June 2026, it received $1.9 million worth of Russian detonators, which can be used to trigger explosives in missile and drone warheads.
The investigation found that supplies reached Iran through several routes, including cargo ships crossing the Caspian Sea from Russia, trucks travelling from Central Asia and freight aircraft from China. Shipments were also recorded as originating in Germany, other European Union countries and the United Arab Emirates.
Despite the conflict and restrictions on shipping, imports continued. Monthly deliveries initially fell by 47 per cent to $54 million in March, compared with the previous month, before rising to $77 million in May.
Reuters found that 97 per cent of the shipments it reviewed were settled without currency transfers, with overseas intermediaries and front companies reportedly using funds held in foreign banks to purchase and ship goods.
The network is also linked to entities associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Phone numbers registered to 91 agencies appeared in Bank Sepah records involving IRGC personnel.
Former US Treasury official Miad Maleki described the system as the Iranian military’s financial and commercial lifeline. However, Reuters found no evidence that the numbered agencies themselves had been designated by Western governments.
The US Treasury said Washington had severed Iran’s economic lifelines and remained ahead of attempts to evade sanctions. China said it was unaware of the shipments described, while Russia’s Defence Ministry, the White House and CENTCOM did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The findings offer insight into how Iran has continued acquiring materials for its military programmes despite years of sanctions and the US-led campaign targeting its missile and drone capabilities.
