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Iranian oil tycoon Hossein Shamkhani, who reportedly enjoys close ties to Western financial networks, has emerged as a key figure in weapon deliveries to Russia via the Caspian Sea, Bloomberg reported earlier today. Citing over a dozen sources from the U.S., U.K., and EU, as well as individuals familiar with the transactions, the report states that since last year, a network of Shamkhani-linked companies — including Dubai-based Crios Shipping LLC — has been using its vessels to transport missiles, drone components, and dual-use goods from Iran to Russia.
Crios-owned vessels, previously active on Mediterranean and Black Sea routes, reportedly shifted to the Caspian Sea in mid-2023 and have been operating between Iran and Russia ever since. Among these ships are the Sea Castle (also known as Tooka) and the Sea Anchor (also known as Roja). This year alone, the Sea Castle and Sea Anchor are said to have made at least five trips from Iranian ports to Astrakhan in southern Russia, and other vessels are potentially involved in the trade.
According to Bloomberg’s sources, Moscow is paying for these shipments with oil. The sources estimate that companies controlled by Shamkhani handle roughly a quarter of all Iranian weapon deliveries to Russia. Shamkhani’s business empire reportedly includes a hedge fund with offices in London, Geneva, and Singapore, as well as a fleet of dozens of ships — including oil tankers and cargo vessels.
Hossein Shamkhani is the son of Ali Shamkhani, Iran's former defense minister and current advisor to the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In August, Bloomberg reported that Shamkhani Jr. owns an oil empire responsible for a significant share of Iranian and Russian crude oil exports. According to the publication, he is linked to the Dubai-registered Milavous Group Ltd, which operates a network of firms that, since its establishment in 2022, has made billions of dollars selling goods from Iran, Russia, and other countries. Through its entities, Milavous “relies on blending and rebranding crude along with various petroleum products from Iran and Russia in third jurisdictions, like the UAE port city of Fujairah.” It also handles “some oil” from countries not under Western sanctions.
Milavous has denied any connection to Shamkhani. Shamkhani himself stated that he runs a logistics business, is not involved in oil trading, and operates only in countries not under sanctions.
The military partnership between Moscow and Tehran has notably strengthened following the onset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with Iran providing Russia extensive supplies of Shahed drones. Russian forces have heavily utilized these UAVs to strike Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, causing substantial damage and casualties — Ukraine reported a record 188 of these drones launched by Russia at various targets across the country on Nov. 26. In particular, the Shahed-136 (dubbed the “Geran-2” in Russian service) has been employed in large numbers.
CNN has described the Shaheds as being “cheap, one-way attack drones.” As the publication further explained: “They are ‘fire and forget,’ meaning a flight path is programmed, the UAV is launched, and it then independently flies towards the target area.” Russia has domesticated the production of Shahed drones at its Alabuga Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tatarstan. Ukraine targeted Alabuga facilities in a number of deep strikes earlier this year.
On Sept. 10, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed reports that Iran had transferred shipments of Fath 360 close-range ballistic missiles to Russia. Reports of Tehran providing Moscow with ballistic missiles had circulated since late 2022, but the rumors varied in degrees of certainty and were inconsistent with regard to the types of missiles that were allegedly shipped.
The Insider’s defense analyst Colby Badhwar recently detailed the deepening ties between informal anti-Western allies China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea — dubbed the “CRINKs” — and outlined the consequences of the West’s ongoing inaction as the four authoritarian countries bolster their military capabilities.