London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

Iran asks Spain to extradite former diplomat's playboy son

Iran has asked Spain to extradite the son of a retired senior Iranian diplomat who is famous for showing off his lavish lifestyle on social media.

Sasha Sobhani, a 33-year-old musician, appeared in court in Madrid after Iran accused him of running illegal gambling websites and money-laundering.

He denied the charges and warned he was at risk of torture if he was sent back.

He said Iran's government was angry about criticism of it he had shared with his 2.6m followers on Instagram.

Mr Sobhani spent much of his childhood living outside the country because of his father's career, which involved postings to Armenia, Gabon and Venezuela.

He told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo that he had stayed in Venezuela after his father finished as ambassador there in 2006 and returned to Tehran to serve as deputy foreign minister in the government of then hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mr Sobhani eventually moved back to Iran, where he gained a following on social media as one the "Rich Kids of Tehran", an Instagram account that chronicled the lives of the capital's wealthy young elite.

He also ran afoul of the authorities by organising raves. He said he was arrested and sentenced to prison, but that he later managed to flee to Turkey.

He moved to Spain two years ago, when he began sharing photographs showing himself with scantily clad women, alcohol, fast cars and private jets.


He also posted videos for his Persian-speaking followers that were critical of the Iranian government.

"I criticise the regime, the lack of freedom they have, I teach them how I live and tell them that they too could live like this. And of course, Iran cannot allow the son of a high official to say those things," he told El Mundo.

Last week, Spanish authorities acted on an Iranian extradition request, which accused Mr Sobhani of running gambling websites that are based outside Iran but are illegal under Iranian law.

Mr Sobhani denied he was involved at a court hearing, stressing that he only had contracts to advertise such sites. He also vowed to fight extradition.

"There they would torture me until I begged them to kill me," he said. "I prefer a grave in Spain than a prison in Iran, but I trust Spanish justice."

In December, Iranian police said they had arrested more than 30 people "active in the field of gambling" as part of a crackdown. They reportedly included some Instagram influencers with more than a million followers each.

Iran's central bank also warned that the identities of 70,000 "active gamblers" had been handed over to the judiciary. It warned that people who ignored warnings to stop gambling faced prosecution.


Iranian Parkour athlete Alireza Japalaghy was arrested over a rooftop kiss


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
×