

The Islamic Republic of Iran spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually on supporting extremist movements in the Middle East. The regime is not whimpered by the brutal sanctions. The money that then gets to Hezbollah or Hamas earns on the sale of oil and black caviar, withdraws from the accounts the “wash” offices acting under the control of the government, takes away from his own citizens in the form of constantly growing taxes and even receives from Russia to exchange for help in the murder of Ukrainians.
There is not enough money ourselves
Sanctions bypass
Drones for cash
Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, KudS and their company
Oter for funds from the population
“We never hid that the entire“ Hezbollah ”budget, all our income and expenses, all that we eat and drink, all weapons and all missiles from the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said Sheikh Hasan Nasrullah in 2016.
How much hesbollah gets from Tehran - it is not easy to evaluate. All this money is in the shade, and analysts have to operate on indirect data, leaks, or even just speculations. The most common figure is about $ 700 million per year. Another $ 100 million is received by Palestine groups - Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others. And there are also Yemenic Husites, several Shiite armed groups in Iraq and a lot of other recipients of Iranian military aid scattered throughout the Middle East. That is, in a year you have to spend about a billion dollars on all this fraternity. And even more. The amount is quite impressive for Iran, given that the real (and not counted at the official exchange rate of the Iranian Central Bank) the military budget of the Islamic Republic in 2022 did not reach dollars and 7 billion.
Iran has long have had serious difficulties with filling the budget. And this despite the reserves of oil and the constantly growing export of exotic products - black caviar and Beluga meat. The state economy suffers great because of Western sanctions. Tehran is deprived of the opportunity to attract Western investments in his oil and gas sector, in the development of the trading fleet and even in the banking system. Due to these sanctions, which were partially lifted by Barack Obama, but completely restored by Donald Trump in 2018, the Iranian Rial is constantly depreciating in relation to the dollar.
As a result, the budget in real numbers from year to year is becoming less impressive. So, before Trump returned to the sanctions, only the defense budget of the Islamic state exceeded $ 21 billion. Now in Iran they do not dream of such figures. Even the current, three times less military budget forces the state apparatus to go to extremely unpopular measures, such as raising taxes on cars and real estate and refusing to index salaries to employees of state -owned companies or industries related to the state. And to expect that the situation will improve in the near future.
The United States included Iran in the list of states of terrorism sponsors, which actually displays Tehran from the legal economic field. Officially, he can sell and buy only those goods and only on the conditions that the West will allow. Logic suggests that in a situation of permanent economic crisis, with record inflation and constant protests of the Iranians tired of poverty, the government should reconsider their relations with the outside world and its expenses. But this is not the ruling Ayatall mode. Their priority is the world Islamic revolution, and therefore the bearded people from Hamas, in which Tehran sees one of the main instruments of this revolution, will continue to receive its millions even when ordinary Iranians will fall into hungry fainting.
Officially, Iran can sell and buy only those goods and only on the conditions that the West will allow
To finance his protege, Iran built a whole system of relatively legal, semi-legal and completely illegal structures, which, regardless of what is happening with the state budget, will earn money and transfer them to the allies of their proxy-mode. Some of these structures have existed for several decades, and some have appeared recently.
The latter include fictitious companies for the sale of suction Iranian products, which are massively opened in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The rather liberal economic legislation of this state allows Iran to register them for firm persons who sell suction goods (such as chemicals) under the guise of legal, supposedly not in Iran, but in other countries, and make a profit for this. In fact, these are “washing” offices for the legalization of illegal money for ayatoll.
In just a few months of 2022–2023, the Americans tracked the arrival of at least $ 160 million to the accounts of these offices (not all of them are associated with Iran, there are those who work in the interests of other rogues, for example, Russia, but most of the dummies still have beneficiaries in Tehran). Washington really does not like what is happening, and he more persistently requires the UAE to tighten his laws and close all the “washing” offices.
By the way, in a short period of warming relations with the outside world, the government of the Islamic Republic itself considered the possibility of adopting laws aimed at combating money laundering. But all the conversations about this were terminated by the Council of Guardians of the Constitution - a meeting of lawyers from theologians and the correct regime of lawyers, for which all the laws adopted by the Parliament and without the approval of which none of them can enter into force. The guards simply blocked all attempts to adopt such bills just because of fears that this will complicate the financing of Hamas, Hezbollah and other groups like them.
Tens of millions of dollars were also received by Iranians from the sale of Russian Kamikadze “Shakud”, which Russians use for attacks on Ukrainian cities and the destruction of civil infrastructure of Ukraine. Money for drones to Tehran from Moscow is delivered in cash in aircraft. Only one such flight in August 2022 brought from Russia about 140 million euros. This money also goes to finance international terrorism, and therefore the American government offers a considerable reward to the one who provides information that can put an end to this trade.
It is important to note that from the part of Iran the transaction participant is the Corps of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution - the elite formation of the country's armed forces, which is directly subordinated to the Supreme Ayatollah Hameni. As the name of the formation is understood, the body of the guards was created to protect and spread the ideas of the Islamic revolution. And it was he who was responsible for establishing contacts with foreign groups.

To do this, the so-called “KUDS” forces act inside the corps-a formation directly responsible for material and technical cooperation with Iran’s foreign clients. The American government even established the identities of the KudS officers who deliver money and weapons Hezbollah, Hamas and the similar groups. Money is brought in cash and gold, transferred to the accounts of dummies in the Middle Eastern banks and sent to cryptocurrencies. The case uses all the methods available now to finance its customers.
For this, the body of the guards receives money for this both from the defense budget (he gets a considerable part of the funds allocated to the army, but which one is state secret) and from other sources. The elite formation of the Iranian army fully or partially belongs to companies engaged in construction, cargo transportation, oil production and a number of other industries.
Only one of these companies- Hatam al-Anbiya -has up to 170 thousand personnel and receives billions of dollars for the implementation of the state order for the construction. Dollars that go to military goals, but are not reflected in the defense budget.
Until recently, the guards earned a joint business with respected Japanese businessmen. The fact is that the guards have a share in the Iranian company Bahman, which until 2018 collected cars licensed by the Japanese Mazda in Iran. The Japanese stopped cooperation with Bahman after the Americans threatened to close the US market for Mazda. Then, for the same reason, Iran also left the South Korean Hyundai, whose cars were assembled at Kerman Khodro factories.
The Japanese stopped cooperation with Bahman after the Americans threatened to close the US market for Mazda
Formally, Kerman Khodro does not belong to the guard corps (well, or sufficient evidence, this has not yet been found yet). However, the owner of the 50% of the company is the Movla Al-Muvakhidin charitable foundation, whose councils are many officers of the KUDS corps, and the general director was generally a defendant in the American List of Terrorist and former guards commander Hamid Arabnejad.
The most valuable asset of this fund is the Mahan Air airline, which more recently associated Tehran with several European capitals and fell under sanctions only in 2018. Mahan Air fully belongs to the Movl Al-Muvakhidin Foundation. The company not only earned money for foreign terrorists, but was also involved in their transport services. It is known that its planes were used to transfer technology and manpower from Iran to Syria.

Such charitable foundations, simultaneously managing the successful business and closely related to the guardianship building, are one of the main foundations of the financial well -being of Hezbollah and similar organizations. In Iran, there are dozens of funds, in the charter of which help the poor and patients as the main activity. To ensure this assistance, funds are allowed to engage in economic and financial activities, to own shares of enterprises and companies. They are not subject to financial inspections by state bodies and pay minimal taxes.
Perhaps these funds really help poor and sick, but they have long become a source of informal - and very large - income for the theological elite and security forces, which are usually part of the founders and leaders of such organizations.
Charity funds became a source of informal - and very large - income for the theological top and security forces
Only one Mostazafan Foundation owns hundreds of enterprises, and its assets were estimated several years ago more than $ 2 billion. Due to the close connection with the guardianship corps and other Mostazafan security officials, is under US sanctions. The American government indicates that the charity activity of the Fund is only a screen for financial fraud in the interests of the Iranian authorities, and indeed - the fund does not help the poor Iranians, but, on the contrary, deprives the property of those who are inappropriate to the regime.
The expropriation of property is another tool for making money, including in the interests of foreign terrorists. The confiscation of agricultural land and business is most often subjected to Bahai - representatives of the religious community prohibited and persecuted in Iran. Bahai are pacifists, and their spiritual center is now located in Israel, which makes them one of the worst enemies of Ayatoll. And the violent seizures of the land from Bahai are one of the main methods of the struggle of the authorities with the followers of the objectionable religion. Iranians also lose their property for political reasons: it can be taken away for the lack of power, for example, for participation in protests. The selected is usually transferred to the management of the same funds that should help the Iranians by papers, but in fact, they serve Hezbollah and Hamas.
Iranians can take property of the Iranians for the lack of power, for example, for participation in protests
In general, even in the conditions of a constantly growing budget deficit and forcedly reduced expenses on the army of Iran there are many more income sources, due to which he can without much effort contain entire proxy armia throughout the Middle East. Yes, and these proxy-arceres themselves are slowly learning to dispose of those millions who annually send them from Tehran. So, back in 2022, the Americans discovered a whole network of closely related fake financial companies that operated in the interests of Hamas. The total amount of funds controlled by the underground financial empire Hamas exceeded $ 500 million.