Iran regime uses former Soviet republic to dodge sanctions, fund war machine: report

With Iran progressively isolated among its Gulf neighbors, caller reports accidental Tehran has been deepening its ties successful the South Caucasus with the Republic of Georgia.

The erstwhile Soviet republic, which was until precocious seen arsenic an aspiring European Union and imaginable NATO subordinate candidate, has dilatory moved person to Tehran.

"Iran has built a immense power infrastructure successful Georgia, which includes entities sanctioned by the U.S. authorities for links to extremism and viewed successful Washington arsenic fronts for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)," Giorgi Kandelaki, erstwhile subordinate of the Georgian Parliament, told Fox News Digital. 

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An anti-war activistic holds an Iranian emblem during a march organized by Stop the War Coalition, calling for an extremity to hostilities amid the U.S.-Israeli struggle with Iran, successful London, Britain, March 7, 2026. (Jack Taylor/Reuters)

Kandelaki, co-author of a caller study with the Hudson Institute titled Georgia’s Iranian Turn: Tehran’s Rapid Expansion of Influence successful a Once-Committed U.S. Ally, said that Tbilisi’s crook toward Iran is atrocious for Georgians but besides atrocious for U.S. interests successful the region.

"Georgia has an overwhelmingly pro-U.S. nationalist sentiment committed to Western values with it besides being viewed arsenic a accepted U.S. state successful Washington. This world presents a unspeakable precedent and reversing this trajectory is successful the involvement of some the U.S. but besides Georgian society," helium added.

While Georgia has remained diplomatically neutral, the Hudson study details the budding ties betwixt the 2 countries and however Iran uses Georgia arsenic a web for quality infrastructure, penetrating Georgia’s religious, acquisition and taste institutions to interaction society.

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Supporters of the ruling Georgian Dream enactment be a rally successful the halfway of Tbilisi, Georgia, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (Shakh Aivazov/AP)

As acold backmost arsenic 2007, Iran opened the Georgian subdivision of Al-Mustafa University, which is considered 1 of Iran’s main arms for the dissemination of Islamic Republic laminitis Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's ideology abroad, according to United Against a Nuclear Iran.

The U.S. Treasury Department stated successful 2020 that Iran’s IRGC-Quds Force uses Al-Mustafa University successful Georgia arsenic an planetary recruitment web for Iran and acts arsenic a conduit for the Islamic Republic’s ideological and information interests.

"Al-Mustafa has facilitated unwitting tourists from Western countries to travel to Iran, from whom IRGC-Qud's Force members sought to cod intelligence," the Treasury Department said. The Treasury Department besides said that the assemblage facilitated pupil exchanges with overseas universities to make quality sources.

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A representation of the precocious Iran's ultimate person Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sits astatine the entranceway to the Iranian embassy successful Tbilisi connected March 6, 2026.  (Vano Shlamov / AFP via Getty Images)

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A study from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies estimated the university’s yearly fund is $100 cardinal and has trained tens of thousands of emissaries crossed the satellite who dispersed Iran’s revolutionary ideology.

Iran has utilized sympathetic Georgians to perpetrate planetary crimes to beforehand its home agenda.

While nary links person ever been made with the Tbilisi government, a Georgian national, Agil Aslanov, who had ties to organized crime, was reportedly recruited by the Quds Forces to assassinate a salient Jewish person successful Azerbaijan successful 2022. In different lawsuit successful 2025, Georgian nationalist Polad Omarov was indicted successful national tribunal successful New York City and sentenced to 25 years successful situation for attempting to assassinate salient Iranian activistic Masih Alinejad, a vocal professional of the Islamic Republic’s usage of unit against peaceful protesters.

Georgia erstwhile made important inroads to foster governmental and information ties with the United States pursuing the Rose Revolution successful 2003, becoming a bedrock of determination information successful the Black Sea region. After decades of Soviet rule, Georgia aligned itself with the United States, contributing to missions successful Iraq and Afghanistan, and yet signed a Strategic Partnership Charter with the United States successful 2009.

In this photograph taken from video released by Georgian Dream Party connected Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze addresses aft the parliamentary predetermination successful Tbilisi, Georgia. (Georgian Dream Party/AP)

Tbilisi's ties with Tehran person been expanded nether the pro-Russia Georgian Dream enactment that took powerfulness successful 2012. That bond, according to analysts, has tightened aft Georgia’s pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili finished her six-year word successful bureau successful 2024 and was replaced by Mikheil Kavelashvili, who was chosen arsenic her successor by a recently established electoral assemblage reportedly dominated by Georgian Dream supporters.

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Kavelashvili’s installment followed parliamentary elections successful Oct. 2024 marred by immoderate irregularities, according to the U.S. embassy successful Tbilisi, successful which the Georgian Dream declared victory. 

A billboard depicting Iran's ultimate leaders since 1979: (L to R) Ayatollahs Ruhollah Khomeini (until 1989), Ali Khamenei (until 2026), and Mojtaba Khamenei (incumbent) is displayed supra a road successful Tehran connected March 10, 2026. Iran marked the assignment of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei to regenerate his begetter arsenic its ultimate person connected March 9, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)

Leadership ties betwixt some countries person steadily grown since the Georgian Dream's disputed 2024 parliamentary victory.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze visited Iran successful May 2024 for the ceremonial of Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, who died successful a chopper accident, and again successful July to be the inauguration of Iran’s existent president, Masoud Pezeshkian wherever Iranian quality agencies reported some leaders praised the increasing narration betwixt the 2 countries.

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Many Georgian companies are besides importing lipid and petroleum products from Iran, a cardinal economical lifeline for the authorities and its determination warfare efforts, according to Georgian NGO Civic IDEA. In 2024, Iranian lipid export gross was astir $43 billion, which accounts for astir 57% of Iran’s full export revenue.

Iranian flags alert arsenic occurrence and fume from an Israeli onslaught connected Sharan Oil depot rise, pursuing Israeli strikes connected Iran, successful Tehran, Iran, June 15, 2025. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA)

According to Civic IDEA, betwixt 2022 and 2025, 72 companies registered successful Georgia imported Iranian lipid and petroleum, including 8 inked to donors of the ruling Georgian Dream party, boosting Iran’s gross watercourse adjacent portion heavy sanctioned by Western nations.

"Georgia has go Iran’s superior sanctions-evasion hub …funneling hard currency backmost to Tehran’s warfare instrumentality and the IRGC done circumstantial schemes successful lipid imports," Nicholas Chkhaidze, nationalist information and strategical communications expert based successful Tbilisi, told Fox News Digital.

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Chkhaidze said these Georgian companies that import Iranian lipid wage successful currency and tin bypass planetary banking sanctions. 

"The standard is massive, arsenic Tehran uses the gross from these schemes to money its determination operations," Chkhaidze claimed.

Telephone and email requests for remark sent to the authorities of Georgia were not returned. A spokesperson for Iran's ngo to the United Nations would not remark connected the relations betwixt the 2 countries.