Iran has imported at least $2 billion in explosives, missile components and heavy-duty trucks since January 2025 despite Western sanctions and a US naval blockade, according to a Reuters investigation published Thursday. The purchases ran through a network of more than 5,000 numbered procurement agencies tied to Iran’s Ministry of Defense. None of those agencies appears on Western sanctions lists.
The agencies share names beginning with “MOD” followed by a number, and they use the same Tehran address as the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. Reuters and the risk consultancy 240 Analytics traced them through banking and government records, corporate filings and about 19,000 import entries. One agency, MOD 346428, accounted for most of what could be quantified, importing about $2.3 billion in military and dual-use goods between January 2025 and June 2026. Some agencies were linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and to state-affiliated foundations. Iranian entities contacted, including Tehran’s mission to the United Nations, did not respond.
The investigation points to the trucks as the clearest evidence. A video posted on February 8, 2025 showed a Tehran customs yard filled with Iveco trucks, which Reuters matched to satellite imagery. In March 2026, US Central Command released footage of strikes on Iranian mobile missile launchers, and one vehicle hit was an imported Iveco truck. The data shows the blockade had an effect but did not close the pipeline: monthly imports by the main agency fell 47 percent to $54 million in March, then recovered to $77 million by May. Goods recorded as originating in the UAE, worth $27 million since the war began, continued to arrive, mostly by sea.
A US Treasury spokesperson did not dispute the findings, saying Washington remains “10 steps ahead” of Iranian evasion. The department announced sanctions on nearly 60 Iran-linked entities, individuals and vessels the same day. Reuters found no evidence that the numbered agencies themselves had been designated, a gap the investigation highlights, since the ministry is sanctioned but its procurement shells are not.
The findings land amid a deep economic crisis in Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has forecast the economy will shrink by more than 25 percent this year, food prices have more than doubled, and the rial has lost about 60 percent of its value. The disclosure also comes as US and Israeli officials are reported to be weighing strike options after the November 3 midterms, while Vice President JD Vance has opened a channel to Tehran. Advocates of renewed strikes read the report as proof that sanctions alone cannot stop Iran’s rearmament. Advocates of a deal point to the March drop in imports as evidence that pressure works and should be turned into leverage at the negotiating table.