Cleric Seddiqi Accused of Transferring Seminary Land to Family-Owned Company

8. Sanctions, Economic Distress, and Illicit Trade
International sanctions, while intended to pressure the government, have inadvertently created new and massive opportunities for corruption. The necessity of circumventing sanctions to sell oil and import essential goods requires complex, non-transparent channels and intermediaries. These channels are often controlled by figures within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and their clerical or political allies, leading to huge markups, illicit profit-taking, and the creation of private smuggling and trade monopolies that are shielded from public accountability.