Iran Foreign Investment Company (IFIC)

Mir Saeed Nikzad Larijani serves as CEO and holds concurrent authority as Iran's Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, meaning final investment decisions sit at the ministerial level. Former Managing Director Farhad Zargari and investment manager Vahid Sharif handle day-to-day portfolio operations. This structure gives the finance ministry direct control over IFIC's capital deployment.

IFIC's most documented holding is a stake in the Rössing uranium mine in Namibia, one of the world's largest open-pit uranium operations, alongside Rio Tinto and China National Uranium Corporation. The fund focuses on hard-mineral and resource-extraction assets. It also controls IFIC Holding AG, a Düsseldorf-based entity that houses European commercial real estate including its own headquarters on Königsallee.

Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) is a sister state entity under Iran's industrial ministry that co-invests with IFIC. IMIDRO owns ASCOTEC Holding GmbH, a German industrial vehicle. The two entities share overlapping government ownership but maintain separate investment portfolios, with IFIC focused on foreign assets and IMIDRO on domestic mining development.

IFIC is capitalized through Iranian state revenues, principally from hydrocarbon exports and mineral royalties. The fund operates as a sovereign wealth vehicle under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, receiving allocations from national reserves rather than managing a segregated pool of central bank foreign-exchange holdings. No public disclosure exists on current AUM.

IFIC's cross-border operations are subject to the same sanctions regimes that apply to Iranian state entities. The Düsseldorf holding structure provides a European corporate interface, but the fund's ultimate control from Tehran subjects it to OFAC and EU sanctions compliance requirements. Investors and counterparties evaluating co-investment must assess sanctions exposure across the full ownership chain.