Iran keeps military supplies coming despite US sanctions Iran has imported at least $2 billion in equipment, explosives and heavy trucks since January 2025 through more than 5,000 defense-related agencies, according to a Reuters investigation. Supplies continued to arrive during the war, complicating US efforts to starve Iranian missile and UAV factories of materials. The buyers operate under numbered names beginning with MOD, an abbreviation for the Ministry of Defense. Most of them date back to 2013, meaning Iran had years to build these channels before the fighting began. Despite decades of sanctions against Iran's military, Reuters found no evidence that the numbered agencies it examined were themselves on Western sanctions lists. Oil sales help pay the bills, with middlemen and foreign shell companies using the proceeds held abroad to buy goods and ship them home. For 97% of shipments, records showed settlement without currency transfer. Keeping the money abroad reduces the need for cross-border payments that can trigger sanctions checks. One purchaser, MOD 346428, brought in rocket propellants, explosives, weapons components and heavy trucks between January 2025 and June 2026. These are the less photogenic essentials behind a missile launch: fuel, parts and vehicles that can carry launch equipment. Shipments arrived by land, sea and air, with a significant portion of the cargo registered as originating in China, Russia and Germany. A naval blockade cannot close any road or air route, and the country of origin of products does not prove that its manufacturer knowingly supplied the Iranian military. Reuters examined bank records, company records and import data, and cross-referenced some of the approximately 19,000 import records. Many goods also have civilian uses, so a shipment of components cannot be counted as a finished missile batch. The records do not determine whether Iran replaces weapons as quickly as it fires them.

Iran keeps military supplies coming despite US sanctions Iran has imported at least $2 billion in equipment, explosives and heavy trucks since January 2025 through more than 5,000 defense-related agencies, according to a Reuters investigation. Supplies continued to arrive during the war, complicating US efforts to starve Iranian missile and UAV factories of materials. The buyers operate under numbered names beginning with MOD, an abbreviation for the Ministry of Defense. Most of them date back to 2013, meaning Iran had years to build these channels before the fighting began. Despite decades of sanctions against Iran's military, Reuters found no evidence that the numbered agencies it examined were themselves on Western sanctions lists. Oil sales help pay the bills, with middlemen and foreign shell companies using the proceeds held abroad to buy goods and ship them home. For 97% of shipments, records showed settlement without currency transfer. Keeping the money abroad reduces the need for cross-border payments that can trigger sanctions checks. One purchaser, MOD 346428, brought in rocket propellants, explosives, weapons components and heavy trucks between January 2025 and June 2026. These are the less photogenic essentials behind a missile launch: fuel, parts and vehicles that can carry launch equipment. Shipments arrived by land, sea and air, with a significant portion of the cargo registered as originating in China, Russia and Germany. A naval blockade cannot close any road or air route, and the country of origin of products does not prove that its manufacturer knowingly supplied the Iranian military. Reuters examined bank records, company records and import data, and cross-referenced some of the approximately 19,000 import records. Many goods also have civilian uses, so a shipment of components cannot be counted as a finished missile batch. The records do not determine whether Iran replaces weapons as quickly as it fires them.