Revealed: billionaire Reform donor was in business with foundation linked to Iranian regime
News Source
•Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:39:49 GMT
📰 What Happened
Nigel Farage's newest billionaire backer was once in business with a powerful Iranian religious foundation. Hossein Ghandehari, known as Sasan, gave £50,000 to Farage this summer for two Davos passes. He has promised millions more to Reform UK.
A French arbitration ruling shows his fund, HP Trust, owned 49% of a company that planned a fibre-optic cable across Iran. The other 51% belonged to Astan Quds Razavi, a religious foundation under the authority of Iran's supreme leader.
The venture ended around 2016. Ghandehari's lawyers say he wanted to open Iran to more information, and that Iran later falsely accused him of working for Western powers.
🔍 The Backstory
The US sanctioned Astan Quds Razavi in 2021. It called the group a bonyad: a quasi-official body that controls large parts of Iran's economy and reports to the supreme leader.
Its leader until 2016 was ayatollah Abbas Vaez Tabasi, appointed after the 1979 revolution. He stayed close to Ali Khamenei. The deal collapsed when a hardliner replaced him and the Ghandehari side was pushed out.
A second Reform donor, John Richard Simpson, gave £200,000 last year. He later took over a Ghandehari-linked trading firm and wound it down. Farage has called Iran a bigger threat to Britain than Russia.
🎯 Why It Matters
Big donations buy access and influence over policy. Voters deserve to know where a party's money comes from and what the donor wants in return.
Nigel Farage's newest billionaire backer was once in business with a powerful Iranian religious foundation. Hossein Ghandehari, known as Sasan, gave £50,000 to Farage this summer for two Davos passes. He has promised millions more to Reform UK.
A French arbitration ruling shows his fund, HP Trust, owned 49% of a company that planned a fibre-optic cable across Iran. The other 51% belonged to Astan Quds Razavi, a religious foundation under the authority of Iran's supreme leader.
The venture ended around 2016. Ghandehari's lawyers say he wanted to open Iran to more information, and that Iran later falsely accused him of working for Western powers.
The US sanctioned Astan Quds Razavi in 2021. It called the group a bonyad: a quasi-official body that controls large parts of Iran's economy and reports to the supreme leader.
Its leader until 2016 was ayatollah Abbas Vaez Tabasi, appointed after the 1979 revolution. He stayed close to Ali Khamenei. The deal collapsed when a hardliner replaced him and the Ghandehari side was pushed out.
A second Reform donor, John Richard Simpson, gave £200,000 last year. He later took over a Ghandehari-linked trading firm and wound it down. Farage has called Iran a bigger threat to Britain than Russia.
Big donations buy access and influence over policy. Voters deserve to know where a party's money comes from and what the donor wants in return.