Odd Lots · Thursday, July 30, 2026
In 2004, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) prevented a new Tehran airport from operating for months due to a dispute over airport operating contracts. Despite being a significant national project, the IRGC blocked flights, including scrambling a fighter jet, until the government awarded the contract to state firms instead of a foreign company. This incident highlights the IRGC's power and influence over major economic projects.
“On the day that it's being opened, the Revolutionary Guards drive armored land cruisers onto the runway and prevent the first plane from landing. They have to be begged by the Transport Minister before they allow it to land. When the second plane wants to come in, they scramble a fighter jet and threaten it and it has to divert south to Esfahan.”
“And why did this happen, the Transport Minister later revealed in a series of interviews, because the Guards had wanted the contract to operate that airport, but they hadn't provided the best price, and so the government had given it to a Turkish Austrian firm and the airport was shut down.”
“And so you know our character, Matthew Cabrby, he's a Speaker of Parliament. His MPs write a report about what happened, but ultimately there's no accountability for that action.”