Since 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has sought to disrupt the balance of power in the Middle East and hinder the United States’ regional interests. As Tehran’s proxy network – known colloquially as the “Axis of Resistance” – expands from Lebanon and Syria to Yemen and Iraq, the need to identify vulnerabilities in the state’s militia networks has never been greater. Its growing influence, combined with its expanding ballistic and nuclear missile programs, call for new governmental approaches to contain Tehran’s regional ambitions. Increasingly, it is clear that open source data can be an extremely beneficial tool for the public and private sectors to understand and analyze Iran’s strategic foreign policy objectives.

Drawing on our global partnerships and extensive in-house expertise, C4ADS leverages data such as corporate records, financial data, satellite imagery and more to track Iran’s malign activities across the Middle East. We specialize in using cutting-edge technology to disrupt Tehran’s illicit weapons supply chains and inhibit cross-border money flows. To date, we have sourced thousands of unique datasets which allow for intricate corporate mapping, and we have drawn on our strengths in maritime analysis to disrupt international smuggling networks. Using the C4ADS methodology, we are able to target individual bad actors, train and brief decisionmakers at the highest levels of government, and ultimately shape approaches to data-based analysis writ large.