Revealed: billionaire Reform donor was in business with foundation linked to Iranian regime
Summary
A billionaire donor to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, Hossein Ghandehari, was involved in a business with an Iranian religious foundation linked to Iran’s supreme leader. The business was a joint venture to build telecoms infrastructure in Iran, which ended in 2016 as hardline officials took over. Ghandehari’s lawyers say his involvement aimed to encourage political change in Iran.Key Facts
- Hossein Ghandehari, an Iranian-born British businessman, pledged millions to Reform UK and donated £50,000 to Nigel Farage.
- Ghandehari’s investment fund, HP Trust, was a major owner of a joint venture to build fibre-optic cables in Iran from 2013 to 2016.
- The joint venture was partly owned by Astan Quds Razavi (AQR), a powerful religious foundation in Iran linked to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
- AQR has been sanctioned by the US for controlling large parts of Iran’s economy with ties to the supreme leader and government officials.
- Ghandehari’s business ties included John Richard Simpson, another Reform UK donor whose firm worked for Ghandehari’s family.
- The business partnership ended when hardline leaders replaced the previous AQR custodian in 2016.
- Ghandehari’s lawyers say he faced false allegations by Iran’s security council after 2016 and that his goal was to increase access to information in Iran.
- Nigel Farage has publicly criticized Iran as a major security threat to the UK.
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