Children of Iran's Ruling Elite

The children of the Iranian regime elite

The sons and daughters of Iran's ruling elite have been flaunting lives of extraordinary luxury on social media - even as thousands of ordinary Iranians are killed for daring to challenge the powerful families who run the Islamic Republic.

While Iran's security forces carry out a deadly crackdown on anti-regime protests, the children of senior clerics, ministers and security chiefs remain shielded from the bloodshed, living lavishly at home and abroad.

Protesters have been shot, beaten, and dragged from their homes, and rights groups say tens of thousands have been arrested in mass sweeps.

Iranian authorities have said the unrest has left at least 5,000 people dead, including security personnel, though independent groups put the number of confirmed deaths from the unrest at around 16,500.

By contrast, the sons and daughters of the men ordering the crackdown continue to pose with designer handbags, supercars, and private jets.

Just a week before the unrest erupted, model and fashion designer Anashid Hoseini appeared carefree as she posed online wearing a high-end cream cashmere coat and carrying a handbag critics said cost more than many Iranians earn in a year.

Describing the image as 'casual me,' Hoseini, who is married to the son of Iran's former ambassador to Denmark, became a symbol of the elite excess, sparking public fury.

The sons and daughters of Iran's ruling elite have been flaunting lives of extraordinary luxury on social media - even as thousands of ordinary Iranians are killed for daring to challenge the powerful families who run the Islamic Republic. Pictured: Sasha Sobhani poses with models

 A week before the unrest erupted Anashid Hoseini, who is married to the son of Iran's former ambassador to Denmark, appeared carefree as she posed online wearing a cream cashmere coat and carrying a handbag critics said cost more than many Iranians earn in a year

The sons and daughters of the men ordering the crackdown continue to pose with designer handbags, supercars, and private jets. Pictured: Sasha Sobhani, the son of a former Iranian ambassador to Venezuela under President Ahmadinejad

Hoseini is part of a group known in Iran as the aghazadeh - the children of senior regime figures who benefit from political power, corruption and sanctions-evading wealth.

But even the regime's elite were not immune to the crackdown, and her social media accounts later fell silent as authorities imposed a sweeping internet blackout during the unrest, cutting off millions of Iranians from the outside world.

Hoseini is far from alone. Other children of Iran's ruling elite live openly abroad, running businesses and holding assets beyond the reach of the country's collapsing economy.

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 the former security chief of the Islamic Republic and senior adviser to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  

'Their lifestyle has enraged, not only made angry, but enraged the citizens of Iran, specifically Gen Z in their age group, mainly because they see how these rich kids live - with no accountability for anything that they do,' said Ella Rosenberg, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Centre for Foreign Affairs focusing on Iran and counterterrorism financing.

With millions of followers online, Sobhani has built a profile flaunting super-yachts, private jets, fast cars and lavish parties with scantily clad women - imagery that has become a lightning rod for public anger inside Iran

Hoseini is part of a group known in Iran as the aghazadeh - the children of senior regime figures who benefit from political power, corruption and sanctions-evading wealth

Unlike many elite figures who keep a lower profile, Sobhani has repeatedly taunted critics while broadcasting his lifestyle from abroad, spending time in countries including Spain and the United Arab Emirates

'Their families and parents and grandparents are making sure that their lives in Iran are easy, living the life of luxury.'

Khamenei has several relatives in Britain and France, including his nephew Mahmoud Moradkhani, while the grandchildren of the founder of the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini, have settled in Canada.

The brother of Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, lectures in Scotland on cybersecurity, while the children of the former president, Hassan Rouhani, live in Austria and studied at Oxford.

According to one former Iranian minister, 5,000 aghazadeh live in America, Iran's greatest enemy, the 'Great Satan'.

One of the most notorious examples of the regime's so called aghazadeh is Sasha Sobhani, the son of a former Iranian ambassador to Venezuela under President Ahmadinejad.

With millions of followers online, Sobhani has built a profile flaunting super-yachts, private jets, fast cars and lavish parties with scantily clad women - imagery that has become a lightning rod for public anger inside Iran.

Unlike many elite figures who keep a lower profile, Sobhani has repeatedly taunted critics while broadcasting his lifestyle from abroad, spending time in countries including Spain and the United Arab Emirates. 

Protesters have been shot, beaten, and dragged from their homes, and rights groups say tens of thousands have been arrested in mass sweeps. Pictured: Flames rise from burning debris in the middle of a street in Gorgan, Iran on January 10 as protesters set fire to makeshift barricades

Iranian authorities have said the unrest has left at least 5,000 people dead, including security personnel, though independent groups put the number of confirmed deaths from the unrest in the high 3,000s. Pictured: This video grab taken on January 9, 2026 shows demonstrators chanting 'death to the dictator' as they march in the Iranian capital Tehran

He has since sought to distance himself from Tehran, which is seeking his extradition from Spain over allegations including running illegal gambling websites and money laundering and organising raves - claims he denies.

Others have fled only just beyond Iran's borders.

During the unrest, wealthy Iranians were seen decamping to neighbouring Turkey to party and socialise away from the violence, fearing they could be targeted as protests engulfed the country.

The province of Van in far-eastern Turkey, which shares a mountainous border with Iran, has become a popular destination, with elite Iranians gathering in bars and nightclubs as demonstrations were crushed back home.

Despite sweeping Western sanctions intended to squeeze the regime, the lifestyles of Iran's elite remain largely untouched - not just abroad but back home.

In affluent neighborhoods of northern Tehran such as Elahieh - often likened to Beverly Hills - luxury cars continue to cruise past high-end cafes, designer boutiques and modern apartment towers, offering a stark contrast to the economic hardship faced by most Iranians.

Sanctions have hammered the wider economy, sending prices soaring and wages collapsing, yet critics say enforcement has failed to meaningfully target the families at the top of the system, allowing the children of senior officials to continue living lives of excess. 

As ordinary Iranians face arrest, bullets and economic ruin, the divide between the rulers and the ruled continues to widen.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15476685/The-children-Iranian-regime-elite-flaunting-wealth-luxury-lifestyles-thousands-slaughtered.html