Key facts
- Sanctions against Iran have created lucrative financial channels for individuals linked to security institutions.
- Investigative journalist Yashar Soltani alleged that four brokers, overseen by a former IRGC intelligence official, are selling Iranian oil.
- The network has allegedly made $1.5 billion from discounts on 80 million barrels of oil.
- Two brokers, Hossein Shamkhani and Rouhollah Razavi, were named as close to Iran's ruling establishment.
- Five detained students have been sentenced to death, according to Khabarnameh Amirkabir.
- Principlist lawmakers proposed Iran withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
International sanctions against Iran have reportedly created lucrative financial channels, generating substantial profits for individuals linked to the country's security institutions, according to local media reports. Yashar Soltani, an Iranian investigative journalist, alleged that the Ministry of Petroleum has lost control of the marketing and export of the nation's oil industry, handing it over to an exclusive network of four brokers who circumvent international sanctions. Soltani, who has previously been jailed for reporting on financial corruption, stated that these brokers have a strong financial incentive to disrupt political agreements between Tehran and Washington, as the lifting of sanctions would effectively shut down their operational networks. According to Soltani, Mohammad Javad Bavand, a former economic deputy at the intelligence organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is overseeing the sale of Iranian oil. Over the past three months, Bavand has reportedly granted four brokers the rights to sell 80 million barrels of oil. Soltani estimates that this network has made approximately $1.5 billion from discounts granted on these shipments alone. In a YouTube interview, Soltani named two of the four brokers as Hossein Shamkhani and Rouhollah Razavi, describing them as close to Iran’s ruling establishment. Soltani further alleged that, in addition to profits from government-granted discounts, all four brokers are indebted to the establishment and have failed to fulfill their financial obligations from oil sales. An additional 100 million barrels of oil have also reportedly disappeared within the opaque chain, with Soltani adding that it remains unclear who was responsible for selling this oil or what happened to it. Separately, Khabarnameh Amirkabir, a student news network covering developments involving the student movement in Iran, reported that five detained students have been sentenced to death. The network identified the students as Omidreza Heydari, 19, Najmeh Amini, 23, Sepehr Amirzadeh, 23, Armin Nourmohammadi, 27, and Ehsan Faridi, 22. Khabarnameh Amirkabir believes more students are at risk of execution and intends to continue investigating cases involving others facing similar threats. Amirzadeh, Amini, and Heydari were reportedly arrested in connection with nationwide protests in January, while Nourmohammadi and Faridi were arrested over their political activism in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The students were convicted by Islamic Revolutionary Courts on charges including “collusion against national security,” “insulting the Prophet,” “moharebeh” (waging war against God), and “efsad-e-fel-arz” (corruption on earth). Following US and Israeli attacks on Iran in February, activists and human rights organizations warned that authorities might use executions to suppress domestic dissent. Amnesty International reported in July that since the beginning of 2026, Iranian authorities had executed at least 26 people convicted of offenses linked to the January protests, as well as at least 26 others on politically motivated charges. In another development, despite a proposal by principlist lawmakers to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), some Iranian experts believe the country’s main decision-making bodies have concluded that leaving the treaty would harm Iran. Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a diplomatic analyst and former chairman of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, described the lawmakers' proposal as largely rhetorical, stating that the Supreme National Security Council makes decisions on Iran’s nuclear program. He argued that withdrawing from the NPT would harm Iran by facilitating the formation of an international consensus against the country, particularly aiding figures like then-US President Donald Trump. Lawmaker Mohammad Seraj also believes the proposal would be detrimental, asserting that Iran has never sought nuclear weapons and that leaving the NPT would only be beneficial if such intentions existed. Seraj added that withdrawing from the treaty would lead to a loss of support from Russia and China.