Iranian press review: Iranian elite profit billions from oil sanctions

Iranian elite profiting from oil sanctions International sanctions against Iran have created lucrative financial channels, generating substantial profits for people linked to the country's security institutions, local media has reported. Yashar Soltani, an Iranian investigative journalist, alleged that the Ministry of Petroleum has lost control of marketing and exporting the country's national oil industry, handing it to an exclusive network of four brokers who circumvent international sanctions. Soltani, who has previously been jailed for reporting on financial corruption, said brokers have a strong financial incentive to disrupt political agreements between Tehran and Washington, as lifting sanctions would effectively shut down the networks through which they operate.

According to Soltani, Mohammad Javad Bavand, a former economic deputy at the intelligence organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is overseeing the sale of Iranian oil and has, over the past three months, granted four brokers rights to sell 80m barrels of oil. Iranian press review: Iranian elite profit billions from oil sanctions Submitted by MEE correspondent on Thu, 09/24/2026 - 10:27 Meanwhile, five students face death sentences, an analyst warns that NPT withdrawal could cost Tehran support, and Iranians are hit by suspension of international language exams An Iranian man fills his car, on the verge of the rise in gasoline prices in Iran, at a gas station in Tehran, 7 September 2026 (Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters) Off Sanctioned oil trade fuels lucrative network International sanctions against Iran have created lucrative financial channels, generating substantial profits for people linked to the country's security institutions, local media has reported. The network has made an estimated $1.5bn from discounts granted on those shipments alone, Soltani said.

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); In a YouTube interview, he named two of the four brokers, Hossein Shamkhani and Rouhollah Razavi, who he described as close to Iran’s ruling establishment. Soltani also alleged that, in addition to profits made from government-granted discounts, all four brokers are indebted to the establishment and have failed to fulfil their financial obligations from oil sales. A further 100 million barrels of oil have also disappeared within the opaque chain, Soltani said, adding that it remains unclear who was given responsibility for selling the oil or what happened to it.

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