The numbers didn't add up: An Israeli exposed Tehran's secret procurement machine

A Reuters investigation reveals a network of over 5,000 entities linked to Iran's Defense Ministry, operating to import military equipment worth billions of dollars while evading sanctions. An Israeli analyst from Petah Tikva identified the pattern in leaked banking documents.

A comprehensive investigation by Reuters, in collaboration with the Israeli-American business intelligence firm 240 Analytics, uncovers a secret network of more than 5,000 entities linked to Iran's Defense Ministry, operating through shell companies and financial mechanisms to evade sanctions. At the heart of the revelation is a 35-year-old Israeli analyst from Petah Tikva, Noam Binshtok, who identified an unusual pattern in documents from Iran's Sepah Bank. The network, whose entity names begin with the letters MOD, imported equipment worth billions of dollars, including explosives, components for missiles and drones, and heavy trucks. Among the shipments: 93 tons of titanium from China, 268 tons of nitrocellulose, and detonators from Russia worth $7.6 million. The investigation points to a payment system where 97% of transactions were conducted without direct currency transfer, using funds from prohibited oil sales.