Iran International:

The son of a key figure in Iran's ruling establishment is at the heart of a sanctions-busting secret trade with Russia, in which Iran provides Moscow with weapons in exchange for oil, a report by Bloomberg said.

Hossein Shamkhani, son of ex-security chief Ali Shamkhani, oversees a network of companies central to facilitating weapons shipments across the Caspian Sea to Moscow amid its ongoing war in Ukraine, the report said.

Through his Dubai-based company Crios Shipping LLC, the younger Shamkhani began moving missiles, drone components, and dual-use goods last year, relying on at least two ships.

The Bloomberg report cited information provided by more than a dozen unnamed US, UK, and European officials, along with others familiar with the transactions.

These shipments, according to sources cited by Bloomberg, are part of a barter arrangement in which Moscow pays Tehran with oil cargoes in order to bypass sanctions restricting both nations’ access to international financial systems.

“My understanding is the Shamkhani network ties into the drone contracts for use in Ukraine,” said John Bolton, former US National Security Advisor, now a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Security and Freedom.

Shamkhani’s trading prowess highlights Iran's broader use of a vast network of companies spanning commodities trading and hedge funds.

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