How Iran's elite use Islamic charities to control secret economic empires

Iran’s leadership is using Islamic charities to conceal and control massive economic empires, some of which are connected to sanctioned businesses and a designated terrorist organization, according to a new report.

These organizations, known as bonyads, act as holding companies for regime members handpicked by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. One bonyad, Astan Quds Razavi, has been unveiled in a report by the American Enterprise Institute, offering a rare glimpse into the inner workings of Iran’s shadow economy. It “serves as one of the regime’s key financial vehicles,” the report says, and should be sanctioned.