Families of Iran’s elite live lavishly abroad while ordinary citizens suffer at home

For decades, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and ruling clerical elite have relied on a system critics say is as strategic as it is cynical: denounce the West in public, while quietly securing a future there for their own families.

“The Islamic regime in Iran is corrupt to its core,” Kasra Aarabi, director of IRGC research at United Against Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital. “While regime clerics and IRGC commanders violently Islamize Iranian society and export anti-Americanism globally, their sons and daughters live lavish lifestyles on blood money in Western capitals.”

Iranian journalist Banafsheh Zand still remembers the girl from her school, the kind of memory that only becomes meaningful years later, when a familiar face reappears in a completely different context.

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They sat together in classrooms at Tehran’s elite Iranzamin School, an institution designed for the children of diplomats and Iran’s upper class, where students spoke multiple languages and moved easily between cultures. The girl was quiet and studious, already shaped in part by years spent in the United States, where she had lived as a child and picked up fluent English that would later define her public role.

Years later, Zand would see her again, not across a desk or in a school hallway, but on television screens around the world. Her former classmate had become the voice of the 1979 U.S. embassy hostage crisis.

The girl was Masoumeh Ebtekar, the English-speaking spokesperson for the extremists who held 52 Americans hostages for 444 days, and who would go on to defend the takeover of the U.S. embassy and later describe it as “the best move” for the revolution.

And yet, decades later, the story did not end in Tehran. It continued, quietly and almost predictably, in California.

A life far from the revolution

Ebtekar son, Eissa Hashemi, was living in the United States, pursuing graduate studies and eventually building a career in academia in Los Angeles, Zand exposed on her substack “Iran So Far Away” — a trajectory that stands in stark contrast to the ideology his mother helped articulate to the world. 

For Zand, this is not an anecdote or an isolated irony, but a window into how the system itself functions.

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“They take the money from corruption inside the country and use it to live a better life elsewhere,” she said. “It’s not a few cases. It’s how they operate.”

What Zand is describing is widely referred to inside Iran as the “aghazadeh” phenomenon, a term used for the children of the Iranian regime’s elite who live lives of privilege abroad while their families enforce ideological restrictions at home, and who have come to symbolize for many Iranians the gap between the regime’s rhetoric and its reality.

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A three-tier network inside the West

Exiled Iranian journalist Mehdi Ghadimi, now based in Canada, argues that this phenomenon is structured. 

“When we talk about the presence of agents of the Islamic Republic, especially the IRGC, here in Canada, we should understand this is not random,” Ghadimi told Fox News Digital. “It operates in layers.”

The system functions as a three-tiered structure that allows regime-linked individuals to embed themselves across Western societies, according to Ghadimi, beginning with those who arrive as students and academics, often presenting themselves as ordinary immigrants while maintaining ties to the regime or its security apparatus.

“They come as students or professors,” he said, “but many have prior connections to the IRGC, and part of their role is to normalize the Islamic Republic in universities and gather information on activists.”

That category includes individuals identified in recent reporting across U.S. campuses, such as Leila Khatami, daughter of former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami at Union College in New York, Zeinab Hajjarian, the daughter of Saeed Hajjarian, a founder of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, according to a March 18 New York Post report.

The second layer, Ghadimi explained, is financial, consisting of former insiders and trusted affiliates who enter Western countries as investors or business figures, often carrying significant capital that raises questions about its origin.

“In Iran, a monthly salary might be $100 or $200, while an apartment costs $100,000,” he said. “So when someone arrives with millions, they are not an ordinary individual.”

These individuals, he said, often serve as conduits for moving money out of Iran, operating under the cover of private enterprise while maintaining ties to the system that enabled their wealth. “They change their professional status and enter as private-sector investors,” he said. “But they are trusted by the system.”

The third layer involves individuals who receive explicit approval from the regime to move large sums abroad, a process that, according to Ghadimi, requires a “green light” from the security apparatus and often comes with expectations in return. “In order to move that level of money, you need permission,” he said, “and in return, they help finance networks connected to the regime.”

One of the most prominent examples is Mahmoud Reza Khavari, the former chairman of Bank Melli Iran, who fled the country in 2011 after the bank was implicated in a roughly $2.6 billion embezzlement scandal, one of the largest corruption cases in Iran’s history.

Khavari later settled in Canada, where public reporting shows that he and his family acquired millions of dollars in real estate, including properties in Toronto, where he remains more than a decade later.

For Zand, the pattern is unmistakable. 

“It’s a mafia structure,” she said.

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A global footprint: from Atlanta to London

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of senior Iranian political figure Ali Larijani and a conservative force within Iran’s theocracy, who was killed in an Israeli strike this week, held a position at Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute in Atlanta before leaving earlier this year following public pressure.

At the same time, a February 2026 report by The Guardian highlighted how relatives of Iranian elites have built lives not only in the United States, but also in Britain and Canada, including members of the Larijani family and relatives of other senior officials, even as the regime continues to position itself in opposition to the West.

Thousands of relatives of Iranian officials were believed to be living across Western countries, IranWire reported in 2022, though precise figures remain difficult to independently verify, underscoring both the scale of the phenomenon and the opacity of the system behind it.

“The problem is even more visible in Europe,” Aarabi said, “Governments, not least the U.K., have turned a blind eye.”

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Power, assets and the next generation

Mojtaba Khamenei, who is slated as the country’s new supreme leader, has been linked to a network of overseas assets, including high-value real estate in Europe. 

A March 2026 investigation by The Times of London, identified two luxury apartments in London’s Kensington neighborhood, acquired in 2014 and 2016 through intermediaries, that sit directly adjacent to the Israeli Embassy compound.

The findings are part of a broader probe into Khamenei’s alleged overseas holdings, with a Bloomberg investigation estimating a portfolio spanning multiple countries and totaling roughly $138 million in assets across Europe and the Gulf, pending verification of full ownership structures.

“He has been operating behind the scenes, managing a large part of the Revolutionary Guard’s security and economic cartel,” Ghadimi said. “His hands are deeply stained with corruption and crimes, and the same Revolutionary Guard is now the main force backing his rise.”

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A system Iranians themselves cannot escape

Inside Iran, the contrast with everyday life is stark. Women are arrested for violating dress codes, protesters are jailed and economic hardship has deepened across much of the population. Outside Iran, the children of the elite live differently.

“They’re telling people how to live, what to wear, what to believe,” Zand said. “But their own families don’t live like that.”

For her, the issue is not only hypocrisy, but strategy. “It’s also about influence,” she said. “They integrate into societies, they build networks, they learn how the West works.”

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Aarabi believes Western governments have failed to respond accordingly. “The Islamic regime’s oligarchs should be treated no differently from Putin’s oligarchs,” he said. “The West should identify, sanction and deport these individuals.”

Iran funding emerges as key test for Johnson’s razor-thin House majority

The Trump administration’s anticipated multibillion-dollar funding request to bolster its Iran campaign could face resistance from GOP fiscal hawks.

Though congressional Republicans have been broadly supportive of the Trump administration’s conflict in Iran, some conservatives are drawing a red line that an emergency cash infusion, known as a supplemental, cannot increase budget deficits. Multiple House Freedom Caucus members, for example, told Fox News Digital that such a funding bill would have to be made up for by cutting spending elsewhere.

“I think the big thing there is going to be making sure that there’s a pay-for,” Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital. 

“I’d like to see how this is paid for,” Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., said, adding that he’d like to see Iran ultimately cover the costs. 

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Neither the president nor Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth has attempted to dispute reports Thursday that the administration is considering an infusion of roughly $200 billion to help finance the Iran campaign and restore depleted munitions. However, no formal request has been sent to congressional leaders yet.

“Our national debt just surpassed $39 trillion. A potential supplemental for Operation Epic Fury — or any supplemental funding for that matter — must be offset,” Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital when asked about the prospective $200 billion request. 

Clyde said he supported the mission but that any resources Congress signs off on must be done “in a fiscally responsible manner.”

Meanwhile, another House conservative granted anonymity to speak freely about the Freedom Caucus’s thinking told Fox News Digital that fiscal hawks were likely to be “skeptical” about the price tag.

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“America isn’t signing up for a $200 billion war. The White House needs to give details of a plan regarding boots on the ground and how much is for replenishing our own arsenal, and how it’s being paid for,” that lawmaker said.

With Democrats’ expected opposition to an Iran supplemental, some Republicans believe putting defense spending in a second “big, beautiful bill” via the budget reconciliation process could be the path of least resistance for the GOP.

Top congressional Democrats were sharply critical of a massive supplemental Thursday — a position that could harden if the conflict drags on.

“They are certainly not going to spend an additional dime on the military, on security, on any of the things that we care about,” Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in an interview last week, referring to Democrats. “This conflict right now and the future of our country and our Western values have to be secured by additional defense spending, which can only happen in a reconciliation bill.”

Pfluger did not comment specifically on the prospective $200 billion request when asked on Friday, but he reaffirmed his support for another reconciliation bill. He also pointed out that reconciliation means that the new spending would be mostly or fully paid for.

“Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world, and I strongly support the administration’s efforts to ensure the United States and our allies cannot be threatened,” he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The pathway for additional military funding could be through a second reconciliation bill, with commonsense offsets that ensure the president’s request is fully paid for. Our warfighters will not be left waiting while the left plays politics with national security.”

The budget reconciliation process allows the majority party to steer around the Senate’s 60-vote requirement and pass legislation via a simple majority. Republicans used the legislative maneuver to advance Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act through Congress in the first half of 2025.

Budget reconciliation would also allow Republicans to identify offsets to a substantial increase in defense spending. However, intraparty divisions are likely to emerge over spending cuts.

There is also skepticism among some Republicans that the Pentagon needs a massive infusion of money.

The “big, beautiful bill” gave $150 billion to the Pentagon. The president has also requested a $1.5 trillion defense budget for the upcoming fiscal year — more than a 50% increase from current levels. 

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Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital that he would like to see the specifics of the supplemental request before committing to supporting one.

“The DoD hasn’t passed an audit for a while,” Self said. “I would like for them to scrub things before they start asking for more money after the $150 billion and before the appropriations get passed.”

And some Republicans are doubtful that the House GOP’s razor-thin majority will be able to pass any reconciliation bill at all, particularly in an election year.

“We’ll see,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who’s already signaled skepticism over the prospect of a second reconciliation bill, told Fox News Digital when asked specifically about military funding in such a vehicle.

And Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital of a second reconciliation bill, “I don’t know how well the prospects are, because there’s some people saying that we aren’t going to do it, and given our small majority, it’s going to be challenging.”

‘The View’ argues whether Iran campaign is historic blunder like Iraq or will keep future Americans safe

CNBC’s Sara Eisen clashed with the  co-hosts of “The View” Friday, arguing President Donald Trump’s military operation in Iran will keep future generations of Americans safe, but her co-hosts were unconvinced.

Eisen, who was serving as a guest co-host, argued that a case could be made for toppling Iran.

“It is a strategic opportunity so that our children do not have to face the greatest state sponsor of terror being a nuclear power,” she said.

“When they get a nuclear weapon, and they threaten our ally, Israel, or Eastern Europe, then it’s too later.

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“So, you feel safer today?” “View” co-host Ana Navarro asked.

Eisen argued that she felt safer knowing that America is working to prevent the rise of a potential nuclear threat. Co-host Sara Haines, while sympathetic to her perspective, argued that the past has lessons that should be heeded.

“I agree with all the points you just made. My fear going in, although I could see taking out the leadership in Iran was a good thing, was what is — how do we get out?” she asked. “Because we have watched this in Iraq. We watched what happened.”

Haines went on to argue that Iran would not only be a uniquely dangerous territory to invade but an impossible war due to the succession of Iranian leadership. (The Trump administration has said much of Iran’s leadership has been killed in strikes during Operation Epic Fury.) 

Haines also noted that there is a particularly extreme culture in Iran among its leadership to the point where it specifically “honors death” in that Iranian regime loyalists believe martyrdom against the enemy grants an eternal reward in the afterlife. This, she argued, has no equivalent in America.

When Eisen claimed Trump is indeed aware that the American public has no desire for another long-term ground war, co-host Sunny Hostin jokingly quipped, “You think he has a plan or the ‘concepts of a plan?’”

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“I believe that they have more than you guys give them credit for,” Eisen replied, citing multiple strategic goals they have laid out.

Navarro later argued Trump has made a grave miscalculation with Iran. 

“Frankly, I think — I think Trump has what a friend of mine called ‘Venezuela derangement syndrome,’ and he thought getting rid of the regime and finding people to work with in Iran was going to be as easy as it was in Venezuela. And it’s proven to be a completely different ball of wax,” Navarro said. 

White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital Trump had four distinct goals concerning Operation Epic Fury. 

“The Trump-deranged wackos on ‘The View’ have no talent and a very poorly rated TV show,” Wales said. 

“President Trump launched Operation Epic Fury with four distinct goals: Destroy the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile and production capacity, annihilate the Iranian regime’s Navy, end their ability to arm proxies and guarantee that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon. 

“The United States military is meeting or exceeding all of its benchmarks, and the president’s decisive action is quickly eliminating short- and long-term threats to the United States and our allies.”

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Rep Boebert rejects call for another $200 billion to fund Iran war, while Americans ‘can’t afford to live’

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., told CNN Thursday she is opposed to sending another $200 billion to fund the Iran war, warning that such efforts are endangering Republican chances in the midterms.

“I will not vote for a war supplemental. No. I am a ‘No.’ I’ve already told leadership, ‘I am a no on any war supplementals,'” Boebert told CNN’s Manu Raju. 

“I am so tired of spending money elsewhere. I am tired of the industrial war complex getting all of our hard-earned tax dollars. I have folks in Colorado who can’t afford to live.

“We need America First policies right now, and that — I’m not doing that.”

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In the past few months, there has been a growing internal battle among President Donald Trump’s MAGA coalition over whether he has fulfilled the campaign promises he ran on for years. 

Some podcasters who have praised or been friendly with Trump in the past, ranging from comedian Andrew Schulz to Joe Rogan, have blasted the Iran war as a huge departure from Trump’s rhetoric on ending such foreign conflicts. 

Now the GOP is struggling to wrangle enough support to keep funding the military operation in Iran. 

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In her declaration to CNN that she will not back the Pentagon’s bid for $200 billion in supplemental funding, Boebert echoed the common sentiment that the military operation is putting Republican chances in the midterms at risk, and other initiatives are far more pressing.

“We need the SAVE America Act, FISA with warrants. There’s a lot of hard lines that I have right now, and we’ve got to get our act together if we want to keep this majority, and the path that we’re going doesn’t look very promising,” she said.

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When another reporter asked whether she thinks the Trump administration should get out of Iran, she replied, while walking away, “That’s up to the president.”

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Iran regime could ‘fall pretty soon,’ Victor Davis Hanson says, as global tide turns

Historian Victor Davis Hanson predicted the Iranian regime could “fall pretty soon” as President Donald Trump’s air campaign continues in the Middle East.

Appearing on “Hannity” Thursday, Hanson argued the president’s strategy in the Middle East is working. He pointed to what he described as a shift in global momentum, three weeks into the joint U.S. and Israeli mission, Operation Epic Fury.

“If Trump sees it through, and I think he will, I think they’re [going to] fall pretty soon, in two, three, four weeks,” said Hanson, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, of Iran.

“And I think they know it. And I think the Europeans know it. And I think the Middle East knows it,” he added.

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Hanson argued Trump is avoiding what he described as the mistakes of past administrations in Iraq and Afghanistan by refusing to deploy massive numbers of troops. Instead, he said, the U.S. is using precision intelligence, advanced technology and aerial firepower to achieve its goals.

“We’re not [going to] put people in a Fallujah-like context where they’re going door-to-door against jihadists,” said Hanson.

“We’re [going to] play to our strength — which is intelligence, technology, firepower — and we’re going to do it in a new way with enhanced drones and satellite reconnaissance, so we know the individual names of individual commanders.”

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While U.S. drone strikes have targeted top Iranian officials, the strategy is expanding. Three more warships and roughly 2,500 Marines are being deployed to the Middle East to address Iran’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. Disruptions in the strait have already sent oil prices surging.

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Trump has posted about his disappointment with allies for not taking a wider role in reopening the vital waterway. The United Kingdom said the U.S. military can use U.K. bases to launch strikes against Iranian missile sites targeting ships in the strait.

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“Europeans would never agree to go anywhere near Iran unless they thought the tide was turning and they think that we’re [going to] win,” added Hanson.

The operation began with strikes that resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28. Last week Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, released a statement vowing the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the war ends and demanding that U.S. military bases be removed from the region.

Iranian man, 2nd person arrested after allegedly trying to enter UK nuclear missile base: report

Two people were arrested after allegedly unsuccessfully attempting to enter HM Naval Base Clyde in Scotland on Thursday, authorities confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

One suspect was an Iranian man, while the other was a woman of unknown nationality, The Telegraph reported.

“Around 5pm on Thursday, 19 March, 2026, we were made aware of two people attempting to enter HM Naval Base Clyde,” Police Scotland said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “A 34-year-old man and 31-year-old woman have been arrested in connection and enquiries are ongoing.”

The Telegraph reported that the man was Iranian, while the woman’s nationality was not immediately known. Citing the Times, the Telegraph said the suspects were turned away from the base because they lacked the correct passes and were later arrested nearby for allegedly “acting suspiciously in the vicinity.”

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A Royal Navy spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital, “Police Scotland have arrested two people who unsuccessfully attempted to enter HM Naval Base Clyde on Thursday 19 March. As the matter is subject to an ongoing investigation, we will not comment further.”

HM Naval Base Clyde — commonly known as Faslane — is considered the primary base for the United Kingdom’s missile fleet.

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The Royal Navy says the base is home “to the core of the Submarine Service, including the nation’s nuclear deterrent, and the new generation of hunter-killer submarines.”

The U.K. Parliament says the Royal Navy currently operates a fleet of nine submarines, with the entire fleet based at HM Naval Base Clyde.

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“Five of those are conventionally-armed nuclear-powered attack submarines of the Astute class. A further four are ballistic missiles submarines (SSBN) of the Vanguard class that comprise the UK’s submarine-based nuclear deterrent,” it added.

Most Americans expect Trump to send boots on the ground in Iran — but majority oppose it: Poll

Nearly two-thirds of Americans think that President Donald Trump will send U.S. ground troops into the fighting against Iran, a new national poll indicates.

A Reuters/Ipsos survey, conducted Tuesday through Thursday (March 17–19), also indicates that a majority of Americans, 55%, say they don’t support sending ground troops into the operation against Iran.

The poll’s release comes as the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran are about to close out their third week.

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Only 7% of those questioned in the survey said they’d support a large-scale strike by American ground forces, with 34% saying they’d back a more limited-in-scope incursion by U.S. special forces.

Fourteen percent of Republicans surveyed said they’d support a large ground force operation, with 63% saying they’d back inserting special forces into a ground action. Twenty-one percent of Republicans gave a thumbs-down to sending in American ground troops.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at a Pentagon briefing earlier this month, declined to rule out the use of U.S. ground forces.

Trump said on Thursday that he was “not putting troops anywhere,” when asked by a reporter about his war plans.

“If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you,” the president added.

The military attacks by the U.S. and Israel have resulted in the deaths of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials, and the decimation of the country’s military.

But Iran has retaliated with attacks against Israel and many of its other neighbors in the volatile Middle East.

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Iran has targeted energy facilities with missile and drone attacks in a number of Persian Gulf nations. It has also made the Strait of Hormuz nearly impassable to commercial shipping, bringing to a halt roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply and in turn sending fuel prices skyrocketing in the U.S. and across the globe.

Most national polls conducted since the launch of the strikes at the end of February indicate opposition to the attacks outweighing support, and the Reuters/Ipsos survey is no exception.

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According to the poll, which questioned 1,545 adults nationwide, 37% of Americans approved of the fighting with Iran, with 59% disapproving.

But there’s a wide partisan divide, with 77% of Republicans but just 6% of Democrats and 28% of independents supporting the operation.

Pence backs Trump’s Iran strikes, says president ‘ignored’ GOP isolationists

EXCLUSIVE — As he praises President Donald Trump for “taking the fight directly” to Iran, former Vice President Mike also argues that the attacks show that the president isn’t listening to the isolationist wing of the Republican Party.

“It’s one of the things I give President Trump great credit for,” Pence said this week in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

Pence’s comments come nearly three weeks into the military strikes against Iran, as some loud populist and anti-war voices in the MAGA and America First orbits have heavily criticized the military operation.

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The former vice president, who has long been a proponent of strong American deterrence around the world, highlighted that “around this administration, and to some extent in this administration, there have been some increasingly loud voices calling for America to pull back from our role as leader of the free world. Isolationist voices have taken hold in some quarters of the Republican Party.”

“But fortunately, President Trump turned a deaf ear to those voices last year when he struck Iran, and this year, when he launched Operation Epic Fury,” Pence emphasized. “I think it’s greatly to his credit.”

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Pence argued that it’s “reflective of where the overwhelming majority of Republicans are. Republicans understand that America is the arsenal of democracy, that we’re the leader of the free world, that we have obligations to lead.”

And pointing to his former boss during Trump’s first administration, Pence said, “I’ve told people many times, I’m proud of President Trump for making the decision to launch operation Epic Fury. But I’m not surprised, because the President I serve with is no isolationist.”

The military attacks by the U.S. and Israel have resulted in the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials, and the decimation of the country’s military.

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But Iran has retaliated with attacks against Israel and many of its other neighbors in the volatile Middle East.

Iran has also targeted energy facilities with missile and drone attacks in a number of Persian Gulf nations. It has also made the Strait of Hormuz nearly impassable to commercial shipping, bringing to a halt roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply, which has sent fuel prices skyrocketing in the U.S. and across the globe.

But Pence emphasized that he “couldn’t be more proud of President Donald Trump for making the decision to send our troops directly against an enemy that has literally claimed thousands of American lives, including nearly 1,000 service members.”

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The former vice president said Trump has “unleashed the armed forces of the United States to take the fight directly to the source of global terrorism. And I think at the end of the day, the American people understand that this is a fight that we have to win, and it’s going to be important that we finish the threat that Iran has posed to the American people, to our cherished ally, Israel, to nations across the region and across the West, once and for all.”

And Pence said that if he were advising Trump, he would urge the president “to finish the threat that the mullahs and Tehran have posed to the people of this country once and for all.”

HEAR MORE ABOUT PENCE’S POSITION ON IRAN ON THE FOX NEWS RUNDOWN