Khamenei advisor's son supplying Iranian weapons to Russia, Bloomberg reports
Illustrative photo: Russia receives weapons from Iran (defence-ua.com)
Iranian businessman Hossein Shamkhani accounts for about a quarter of all weapon shipments from Iran to Russia, including drone components and more, Bloomberg reports.
As the agency notes, Hossein Shamkhani is the son of Iran’s former defense minister, who now serves as an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Bloomberg reports that Shamkhani controls a network of companies facilitating the export of oil and petroleum products from Iran and Russia through countries that have not joined Western sanctions. His companies own a fleet of dozens of vessels, including tankers and cargo ships.
Journalists specify that at least two vessels linked to Shamkhani’s companies participated in transporting Iranian weapons, drone components, and dual-use goods from Iran to Russia in 2023. These vessels are the Sea Castle (also known as Tooka) and the Sea Anchor (also known as Roja). This year, they made at least five trips from Iranian ports to Astrakhan.
According to sources cited by Bloomberg, Russia pays Iran for these shipments in oil.
Iran is Russia's ally
Iran provides Russia with military assistance in its war against Ukraine. In particular, the Russians receive Shahed kamikaze drones from Iran, which the Russian army regularly uses to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
In particular, recently, a Russian Shahed hit a warehouse of the Silpo supermarket chain near Kyiv. This resulted in a massive fire.
The warehouse contained frozen products worth about UAH 400 million.
