Iran built a network of more than 5,000 agencies, all carrying the prefix “MOD,” and used it to import at least $2 billion in hardware, explosives and heavy-duty trucks since January 2025, according to a Reuters special report published October 29. Reuters found no evidence that Western governments have designated any of the numbered agencies, and its headline says the hardware is slipping past the US naval blockade.
What Reuters found
The agencies share a single Tehran address with Iran’s Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL). They list a February 11, 1979 incorporation date, though most were actually established in 2013. Reuters tied some of them to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and to bonyads. Phone numbers for 91 of the agencies appear in Bank Sepah records of IRGC accounts.
The agencies were identified, Reuters said, “for the first time by Reuters in collaboration with” the risk consultancy 240 Analytics.
Experts consulted by Reuters confirmed that many of the imported materials could be used in Iran’s missile and drone programs. The report also stresses that much of the material is dual-use, meaning it has civilian as well as military applications.
The documents behind the claim
The core records are Bank Sepah documents that came out of a hack claimed by a group calling itself Codebreakers. They circulated on Telegram and on WikiIran, whose operators are unidentified. WikiIran told Reuters it could confirm the materials were authentic. Bank Sepah did not respond to Reuters. Reuters combined those files with import data from the commercial trade database ImportGenius and checked a portion of roughly 19,000 import records against shipping documents, social media and state media.
Some shipments were identified only by customs codes, and Reuters said it could not independently confirm them. Readers should treat the headline total as Reuters’ estimate built from leaked and commercial records, not an audited figure.
Specific cases
Reuters traced 886 tonnes of Chinese-origin chemicals carrying perchlorate customs codes into Bandar Abbas between January and April 2025. An explosion at the port on April 26 killed at least 70 people and injured more than 1,200. Reuters said it could not determine whether the chemicals in the final 75-tonne shipment were responsible for the blast.
On trucks, Reuters reported that an Italian dealer bought six Iveco Eurocargo trucks in 2022 for 426,000 euros through Deilami Trading of Dubai, and that the packing list shows delivery to Sahara Thunder, a company the United States sanctioned in 2024. Iveco told Reuters that any presence of its vehicles in Iran occurred “beyond Iveco Group’s control and responsibility” and that it had no record of the 2022 sale. Reuters also said it could not confirm that a truck seen in US Central Command strike footage was one of the network’s imports; the open-source defence intelligence firm Janes matched only the make of the trucks in a separate social media video.
The report also cites $7.6 million in Russian detonators across five shipments since 2025, and $27 million in shipments from the United Arab Emirates, the last on June 27. It says 97 percent of the shipments were settled without a currency transfer.
Responses
Iran did not respond to Reuters, including through its United Nations delegation in Geneva and the presidency. China’s Foreign Ministry said it was “unaware of the situation you describe” and that it opposed attempts to “maliciously link regional hostilities to China.” Toyota, whose vehicles also appear in the import records, said it “was not involved in, and has no knowledge of, the purchases.” A European Union spokesperson said the bloc “continues to assess very carefully information related to Iran’s reinforcement of its drones and missiles programs.” A US Treasury spokeswoman said Washington “has severed the regime’s economic lifelines.” Russia’s Defense Ministry, the German and Italian governments, and the UAE did not respond.
What is not established
Reuters did not establish who in Tehran directed the network day to day, how much of the material reached weapons production, or how much was civilian cargo. The leaked bank files come from a hack by an anonymous group, and we have not seen the underlying documents. We read the Reuters report in a syndicated copy and a reprint, not on the Reuters website.
Sources
- Reuters special report, “Iran’s hidden web of military agencies is slipping hardware past the US blockade” (syndicated copy, Devdiscourse), October 29, 2026
- Iran International, “Iran imports at least $2 billion in military supplies despite US blockade – Reuters,” October 29, 2026
How this article was made: Right Side News researched and drafted this article with the help of AI tools. Sources are linked so readers can check them. Spot an error? Tell us in the comments and we will correct it.
