UK-sanctioned Iranian tycoon owns £33.7 million London mansion – report

The individuals helped move Iranian funds through both licensed and unlicensed exchange companies, the Treasury said, allowing Hezbollah to rebuild its military infrastructure and sustain its paramilitary units.

“Lebanon has an opportunity to be free, prosperous, and secure, but that can only happen if Hizballah is fully disarmed and cut off from Iran’s funding and control,” said John K. Hurley, the US undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement.

Efforts to curb Hezbollah’s military power have intensified but borne little fruit since a ceasefire with Israel in June 2024.

The Lebanese group argues that its weapons are needed to defend the country’s from Israel, but rival factions in Lebanon’s fragmented political landscape say the group undermines the state and serves Tehran’s interests.

This message was delivered by Iran's President Joseph Aoun directly to Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, during his visit to Lebanon in late September.

Larijani rejected accusations of interference, saying those pushing for disarmament, not Tehran, were meddling in Lebanese affairs.

‘Cash network’

The latest measures target Hezbollah operatives who, according to US officials, oversee the influx of Iranian money generated through covert dealings which contravene US sanctions, including the sale of oil and other goods.

According to the Treasury, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps–Quds Force has transferred more than $1bn to Hezbollah since January 2025.

Among those sanctioned is Ossama Jaber, a Hezbollah member accused of collecting and converting tens of millions of dollars between September 2024 and February 2025.

Washington also moved against figures linked to Hezbollah’s finance team, whose structure has been in flux since the death last year of its long-time chief, Muhammad Qasir, and the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria — a key financial bridge to Iran for decades.

Qasir’s responsibilities were split among several relatives and associates, including his son Ja’far and nephew Ali, both of whom have already been sanctioned by the US.

Hezbollah has been listed by the US as a foreign terrorist organization since 1997.

“The government, which has grown large and costly over the years, has placed much of the inflation burden on the people,” Pezeshkian said during a meeting with provincial officials in Kordestan province.

“While the state should serve producers, in many sectors we have reached a point where there are plenty of directors and managers but little productivity.”

He added that structural reform lies in downsizing the government, a process he described as difficult and time-consuming because “many have grown accustomed to rank and ceremony, and that mindset must change.”

Pezeshkian also warned that excessive state spending beyond national means “ultimately translates into inflation that weighs on people’s livelihoods.” 

He said he had instructed provincial governors to reduce administrative expenses to free resources for supporting vulnerable groups.

The president acknowledged that international sanctions had intensified economic strains but said domestic inefficiencies, rather than foreign pressure alone, remained the root cause of inflation that official data places at about 40%.

Under the Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Act 2025, the government may now designate a foreign state entity that “has engaged in, or otherwise supported or advocated for, the doing of terrorist acts targeted at Australia.” 

The Criminal Code will also be expanded with new offences aimed at state sponsors of terrorism, their proxies and external supporters.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland said the legislation reflects Australia’s uncompromising stance on threats to its national security. 

“Our first priority is the safety and protection of all Australians, which is why we have acted decisively in passing this vital legislation through the Parliament,” she said. 

She added that the law “is a warning that foreign states and their supporters who seek to fuel division, create fear, erode social cohesion and perpetrate violence in the Australian community will be held to account.”

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  Australia moves to label Iran’s Guards a terrorist organization under new bill

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  Australia suggests IRGC terror listing need not target innocent conscripts

The legislation follows a hot-line press conference in August where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, flanked by Australia’s domestic spy chief, publicly said the IRGC orchestrated two arson attacks on a kosher restaurant in Sydney and a synagogue in Melbourne in 2024.

Australian domestic spy agency Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) assessed that the IRGC used a “complex web of proxies” to carry out attacks on Australian soil.

Rowland said the new law would create an environment where “it is more difficult, more risky, and more costly for malicious foreign actors to seek to cause Australia and our community harm.” 

She added that law enforcement and intelligence agencies would be given enhanced powers to investigate and disrupt state-sponsored terrorism.

While the IRGC has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States since 2019, Australia’s new law marks the first time Canberra has enabled the listing of a foreign state entity under its federal terrorism framework. 

Parliamentary sources said the government’s intelligence case was bolstered by “credible intelligence” linking the IRGC to extremist actions in Australia.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the law as part of broader efforts to protect democratic institutions from overseas interference.

“Foreign state-sponsored extremism does not stop at our border,” she said, adding that the legislation would help safeguard Australia’s “social cohesion and national resilience.”

Tehran dismissed the Sydney and Melbourne attacks allegations as “fabricated aims to undermine Iran.”

Australia’s Parliament passed the bill through the Senate without amendment. Legal analysts said the framework enables Canberra to impose economic and operational restrictions on listed entities and prosecute those who provide material support. The law also allows asset freezes and bans on directors or associates of designated state-sponsor entities.

Many of those affected have voiced frustration over long delays and unclear procedures, with some students staging protests outside the German consulate in Tehran to demand action on their visa applications.

On Sunday, a group of young Iranians gathered in front of the consulate to protest the embassy’s refusal to process applications for bachelor’s, conditional master’s and college programs.

"This situation is completely unfair. The embassy should not treat us differently from those in higher programs when we have already paid tuition, insurance, and even rent," one protester told Iran International.

TLScontact, the external service provider that collects visa applications and biometric data on behalf of the German embassy, has also faced criticism from applicants who say their repeated calls and visits have gone unanswered.

“In the past two weeks, we have repeatedly contacted TLS, and in recent days we again protested both in front of the consulate and TLS, but no one is responding,” the protestor said.

On June 16, the German embassy announced that it had temporarily closed due to the circumstances created by the war between Israel and Iran and urged visitors to refrain from going to the embassy or its legal-consular section.

“Appointments already issued have been cancelled. The affected applicants will receive an email, and a new appointment will be automatically scheduled for a later date,” it said in a statement.

"The processing of pending visa procedures and the acceptance of new applications are taking place in accordance with current capacities," Germany's Federal Foreign told Iran International in response to an inquiry.

"The Federal Foreign Office aims to expand operations depending on further developments and the personnel resources available," it added.

Separation and forced return

An Iranian man living in Germany told Iran International that before the war began, he had completed the paperwork to obtain an interview appointment for his teenage son’s family-reunion visa.

But since the war broke out, the process has been suspended, and as of November 2025, he has not been able to register for an appointment.

He added that separation from family, uncertainty, and the unstable situation in Iran have negatively affected his son’s mental health.

The “Family Reunion” section of the German embassy’s website says the processing of visa applications for those who had already submitted their documents remains suspended.

It also says that from November 11, appointments for Iranian nationals already on the waiting list for family-reunion visas “will be scheduled depending on available capacity.”

According to the notice, it is not possible to register for new appointments or join the waiting list.

According to those who spoke to Iran International, the separation of families—spouses and children unsure when they will reunite—has imposed a heavy psychological burden.

An Iranian living in Germany said his friend, who migrated to Germany as a nurse on a work visa and has been apart from her husband and six-year-old child for more than a year, was in the final stages of securing their visas when the process was halted due to the war. Now, the future for this family of three remains uncertain.

An Iranian woman living in southern Germany also told Iran International that she witnessed her friend’s forced return to Iran.

She said the woman, a student at the University of Erlangen in northern Bavaria, southern Germany, was forced to abandon her studies and return to Iran after her husband was unable to obtain a visa.

She added that the embassy returned her husband’s passport without even stamping it as rejected.

More than 550 Iranian figures—including political activists, journalists, human rights defenders and those who suffered eye injuries during the nationwide 2022 protests—sent a letter to the German federal government, calling for the immediate resumption of visa processing for political, civil, and labor activists, journalists and other at-risk professions.

According to the 2025 Henley Passport Index on the world’s strongest and weakest passports, among 199 passports, only 13 countries rank below Iran.

In August, the state-run IRNA news agency reported that the closure of several embassies during the 12-day war left about 3,000 to 4,000 Iranian passports caught in visa processing. The report said many applicants, especially students and athletes, were unable to leave the country.

The probe focuses on billions of dollars in money movements between firms overseen by oil tycoon Hossein Shamkhani, the son of a top adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Bloomberg said.

According to the report, the probe has drawn on information from insiders within Shamkhani’s business network and from Wall Street banks that had relationships with entities linked to him.

The main target of the investigation is Shamkhani, rather than the banks, Bloomberg said.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., ABN Amro Bank NV, Marex Group Plc, Standard Chartered PLC, Emirates NBD PJSC and National Bank of Fujairah PJSC are among the institutions under review, the report said citing several people familiar with the probe.

Bloomberg said spokespeople for the Justice Department, JPMorgan, ABN Amro, Marex and Standard Chartered declined to comment. National Bank of Fujairah said it is “not under investigation by the US Department of Justice,” while Emirates NBD said it has not received any communication from US authorities.

Bloomberg said Shamkhani did not respond to a request for comment the news agency sent to his lawyers.

Bloomberg reported last November that the US Treasury Department was examining JPMorgan’s relationship with a hedge fund said to be overseen by Shamkhani.

According to Bloomberg's latest report, the Justice Department’s probe is broader in scope, aiming to map out the tycoon’s global financial network and pursue potential indictments or arrests of his associates, with cooperation expected from authorities in the United Arab Emirates, a key hub for his operations.

Shamkhani, who operates mainly from Dubai, was sanctioned by the United States in July along with dozens of individuals, companies and vessels linked to his network in what the US Treasury described as its largest Iran-related action in seven years. The UK and European Union also imposed sanctions in recent months.

US officials said Shamkhani used his father’s political influence to build a fleet of tankers and container ships that transported Iranian and Russian oil worldwide through shell companies. The Treasury said he used aliases including “H,” “Hector” and “Hugo Hayek” to conceal his dealings.

Following the sanctions, Dominica revoked Shamkhani’s passport issued under the Hayek pseudonym, and Panama de-flagged several vessels tied to his firms.

Bloomberg's report said some of Shamkhani's companies have since shifted operations to Oman.

Another Bloomberg investigation last year found that Shamkhani’s network had become a key channel for Iranian and Russian oil exports and had established a hedge fund with offices in London, Dubai and Geneva to manage proceeds from the trade.