Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) now control up to 50% of the country’s oil exports, a vital revenue source for the regime and its allied groups, according to Western officials and insiders within Iran. Over the past few years, the IRGC has expanded its control over the oil industry, using tactics such as secretive shipping routes and front companies to facilitate sales, especially to China.
Sources, including security and oil industry experts, report that the IRGC’s share of the oil market has grown significantly—up from 20% just three years ago. Despite US sanctions on Iran’s oil sector and the IRGC being designated as a terrorist organization, the Iranian regime continues to generate over $50 billion annually from oil exports.
The IRGC has perfected the art of circumventing sanctions, using a covert fleet of tankers and offering discounted oil to buyers willing to risk violations. A significant portion of the revenue is believed to fund groups like Hezbollah, which, according to Israeli counterterrorism authorities, receives up to $1 billion annually from Iran.
China is a key customer of IRGC-controlled oil, with firms like China Haokun Energy playing a role. The US sanctioned China Haokun Energy in 2022 for aiding the Quds Force, the IRGC’s external operations division.