It is impossible to gauge its share of Iran’s GDP, but western estimates range from a third to nearly two-thirds.
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani encouraged the Revolutionary Guard to get involved in business in the 90s Photograph: Vahid Salemi/AP
The extent of the Revolutionary Guards’ control over the Iranian economy is apparent as soon as you enter the country. They run the main international airport, and the manner in which they acquired it was a bruising demonstration of the way big business is now done in Iran.
