The Iranian shadow network: How Tehran bypasses the American blockade and arms its forces

A Reuters investigation reveals a secret network of over 5,000 Iranian military agencies that have imported military equipment worth two billion dollars since January 2025, bypassing American sanctions. The network, linked to the Revolutionary Guards, acquired explosives, missile components, drones, and heavy trucks from China, Russia, and Germany.

Iran has established a secret global network of military agencies through which it has imported technological equipment, explosives, and heavy trucks worth at least two billion dollars since January 2025. An investigation by Reuters, in collaboration with the Israeli-American consulting firm 240 Analytics, reveals that the network operates while bypassing the American naval blockade and the Western sanctions regime. Behind code names starting with the letters MOD lie more than 5,000 shadow agencies, some directly linked to the Revolutionary Guards and giant corporations controlled by the ruling elite. Between January 2025 and June 2026, a single agency named MOD 346428 imported massive quantities of rocket propellants, explosives, and technological components for weapons production, as well as heavy trucks convertible into mobile missile launchers. The equipment flowed to Iran from China, Russia, and Germany. The investigation is based on leaked banking and government documents, company registrations, and import data. Experts confirmed that the materials could be used in the production of missiles and drones. The US Treasury Department responded that the US has cut off the economic lifelines of the regime.