Iran has used about 5,000 agencies to sneak hardware, explosives and trucks for its drone and missile programs past the U.S. naval blockade and Western sanctions, Reuters reported, according to CBS News.
The network has helped bring at least $2 billion in components into Iran since 2025. Some of the agencies are linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and others to business conglomerates run by the country’s elite, Reuters said.
Between January 2025 and June 2026, a single company, MOD 346428, imported large amounts of rocket propellants, explosives, weapons parts and trucks that can serve as missile launchers from China, Russia and Germany, according to the report.
Separately, the IRGC Navy claimed Thursday that its electronic warfare unit intercepted and landed a U.S. reconnaissance drone west of the Strait of Hormuz. The claim could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate U.S. confirmation in the CBS News report.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry also said it dismantled four alleged terrorist cells and arrested 16 suspects in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, CBS News reported.
Sources: CBS News. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
