Reuters Investigation: 'Vedja' Network is Iran's 'Military Lifeline'

London – Agencies: A Reuters investigation has uncovered an Iranian military and financial network comprising more than 5,000 entities, which Tehran uses to import equipment and components for manufacturing missiles and drones, thereby circumventing Western sanctions and the US naval blockade. Records reviewed by the agency show that a single entity within the network imported equipment and materials worth $2.3 billion between January 2025 and June 2026, a period that included the first four months of the war that erupted last February. Imports included materials for producing rocket fuel, explosives, aircraft engine components, electronics, and heavy trucks that could be used as mobile launch platforms. Shipments reached Iran by land, sea, and air, even during the war.

The investigation relied on thousands of banking and government records, company registration documents, and import data, in collaboration with the Israeli-American risk consulting firm 240 Analytics. According to the documents, the entities’ names begin with the letters “Vedja,” an abbreviation for Iran’s Ministry of Defense, followed by numbers that distinguish each entity. All entities share a single address in Tehran: the address of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces Logistics. These entities list February 11, 1979, as their founding date, but records indicate that most were actually established in 2013, coinciding with intensified sanctions, declining oil exports, and currency collapse.

Some entities are linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and quasi-governmental economic institutions known as “Bonyads,” which are controlled by figures from Iran’s elite. Niamh Beheshti, senior analyst at 240 Analytics, stated that the numbered entities constitute the “hidden infrastructure” of the sanctions-evasion network. Reuters found no evidence that the numbered entities covered in the documents were listed under their names on Western sanctions lists.

According to the investigation, the network relies on intermediaries and shell companies abroad, which use proceeds from Iran’s sanctioned oil sales to purchase and ship goods to the country. Import data showed that 97% of the shipments reviewed by Reuters were recorded as “non-monetary settlements.” Instead of transferring funds across borders, intermediaries purchased equipment using balances held in foreign banks. Miodrag Maleki, a former US Treasury official, described this system as the “military lifeline of the regime,” explaining that it enables Iran to convert funds earned from overseas oil sales into military purchases.

The entity “Vedja 346428” emerged as one of the network’s key importers. According to records provided by Import Genius, a trade data platform, its imports reached $2.3 billion between January 2025 and June 2026. Its purchases included chemicals used in producing rocket fuel and explosives, as well as precision machinery that could be used in manufacturing missile and drone structures and components. Weapons and sanctions experts who reviewed the investigation’s findings confirmed that many of the materials could serve military programs, while noting that some are dual-use and also have civilian applications.

According to import data and shipping documents, equipment entered Iran via ships from Russia in the Caspian Sea, trucks from Central Asia, and cargo planes from China. Data showed a 47% to 54% decline in monthly import values to $54 million in March, compared to the previous month, before rising to $77 million by May.

The documents also recorded imports from Germany and other EU countries, including trucks, aircraft engine components, and electronics.