[Foreign Media Reports Iran Imported $2 Billion Worth of Military Equipment] Golden Finance reported on October 29th, citing Reuters and Al Jazeera, that Iran has established a vast global network of institutions to import at least $2 billion worth of military equipment while circumventing US naval blockades and Western sanctions. The report states that these more than 5,000 institutions constitute a powerful financial and military operating system. Some of these institutions are linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, while others belong to business consortia known as "bonyads" (i.e., various foundations/business groups) controlled by the Iranian elite. Miyad Maleki, a former senior official at the US Treasury Department who participated in designing sanctions against Iran, stated, "This is essentially Iran's military lifeline in the current conflict—and even for many years before that."