The children of Iran's ruling elite live extravagant lives of luxury, exposed on social media, while thousands of ordinary Iranians are killed for daring to question the regime and protest the poverty they live in.
And while the crackdown on anti-regime protests has been bloody, with at least 5,000 dead, according to Iranian authorities and around 16,500 according to independent organizations, the children of senior clerics, ministers and security chiefs appear far from the bloodshed, living in luxury, both at home and abroad. As the Daily Mail reports, the children of the people who control Iran continue to pose with designer handbags, supercars and private jets. Just a week before the unrest broke out, model and fashion designer Anashid Hosseini posed online wearing an expensive cream cashmere coat and carrying a handbag whose value, according to her critics, exceeds the annual income of many Iranians.
Hosseini, married to the son of Iran’s former ambassador to Denmark, has become a symbol of excess, sparking public outrage. Hosseini is one of a string of children of senior regime figures who benefit from political power, corruption and the wealth that comes from circumventing sanctions. Among them are Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani and his brother Hassan, known as “Hector,” who are based in Dubai and run a global shipping empire. Their father, Ali Shamkhani, is a former security chief for the Islamic Republic and a senior adviser to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Their lifestyle has angered Iranian citizens, especially Generation Z, mainly because they see how these rich kids live, without any responsibility for what they do,” said Ella Rosenberg, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs specializing in Iran and terrorist financing.
“Their families, parents and grandparents make sure their lives in Iran are easy, full of luxury,” she added. According to a former Iranian minister, 5,000 “aghazadeh” live in America, Iran’s greatest enemy, the “Great Satan.”
A well-known example of regime waste and abuse is Sasha Sobhani, the son of a former Iranian ambassador to Venezuela under President Ahmadinejad.
Sobhani has an Instagram account with millions of followers. He shows off his super-luxury yachts, private jets, fast cars and lavish parties with half-naked women, provoking public outrage in his country. Unlike many other elites who keep a low profile, Sobhani has repeatedly provoked his critics. And after flaunting his lavish lifestyle, he has subsequently sought to distance himself from Tehran, which is seeking his extradition from Spain on charges that include running illegal gambling sites, money laundering and organizing rave parties. Despite Western sanctions on the regime, the lifestyle of the Iranian elite appears to remain largely intact, both at home and abroad. In wealthy northern Tehran neighborhoods like Elahieh – often compared to Beverly Hills – luxury cars drive past expensive cafes, designer boutiques and modern residential towers, creating a stark contrast to the economic hardships of the majority of the population.
