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Hector: Kingpin of Iran’s Oil Empire

Hossein Shamkhani. (Iranian media)
Hossein Shamkhani. (Iranian media)
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Hector: Kingpin of Iran’s Oil Empire

Hossein Shamkhani. (Iranian media)
Hossein Shamkhani. (Iranian media)

Interviews carried out by Bloomberg shed light on the “global kingpin for Iranian oil”, known as “Hector”.

The kingpin is Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He has “raked in billions of dollars in sales from commodities originating out of Iran, Russia and elsewhere, according to more than a dozen people familiar with the matter,” reported Bloomberg.

“Few know Shamkhani’s real identity and he is widely known only as Hector, the people said.”

“Companies in his network also sell oil and petrochemicals from non-sanctioned nations and sometimes mix crude from various jurisdictions, so even buyers who test barrels may not be able to identify the country of origin, the people said,” added the report.

Shamkhani’s rise

His rise to power “offers a glimpse into parts of a sprawling shadow economy of dark oil fleets that have sprung up since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It also shows an increasing cooperation between Tehran and Moscow as global powers ratchet up sanctions against both governments,” said the report.

“Washington faces challenges clamping down on this trade because that risks pushing up prices at the pump in an election year. Meantime, Iran gets an annual windfall of some $35 billion from its oil exports, a boon as it backs proxy groups that have attacked Israeli or Western assets” and it appears that Shamkhani has been tasked with this mission.

Bloomberg said the US has imposed sancstions on ships believed to be operating within Shamkhani’s network, revealed people informed in the matter.

Shamkhani and parts of his trading network that do some business inside the dollar system, are under investigation for possible sanctions violations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Treasury Department, according to the people and documents seen by Bloomberg.

Shamkhani denies everything

In an emailed response to questions, the director of his company said “the firm has no connection with Shamkhani while a lawyer representing the company said it follows all rules and has no links with any Russian or Iranian interests.” He denied owning any oil company, controlling a trading network or having a firm involved in commodities deals with Iran or Russia.

“Shamkhani’s influence is so wide that products supplied by entities in his network have also reached global majors like China’s Sinopec, US-based Chevron Corp. and UK-based BP Plc, according to people familiar with the matter,” continued Bloomberg.

“People familiar with Shamkhani’s empire said he effectively oversees an intertwined web of companies,” it added. “Business ownership, shareholding and control information are easy to obscure, and other executives have been formally registered as the owners and managers, the people said.”

“As one of Iran’s most profitable sectors, oil is top of mind for officials in the US. International restrictions on crude sales have put sharp pressure on the Iranian economy for years. Even so, the Iran helps fund Hezbollah, which has been trading rocket fire with Israel, as well as Houthi militants who have been attacking Western and Israeli ships in the Red Sea. It also backs the Palestinian group Hamas, which has been at war with Israel in Gaza for almost 11 months.”

Moscow and Beirut

“Over the last three decades, Shamkhani’s father Ali served as naval commander for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, defense minister and then Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, the country’s top security body.”

“The younger Shamkhani is in his 40s and was born in Tehran, according to people who have worked with him. He attended university in Moscow and Beirut before returning to the Iranian capital to obtain a Master of Business Administration, an archived LinkedIn profile says. Shamkhani’s Russian connections are particularly valuable at a time when Tehran and Moscow, both under Western sanctions, are strengthening their military and economic cooperation,” reported Bloomberg.

“My father never had nor does he have anything to do with my business activities,” Shamkhani said.

During a brief TV appearance in 2008, the elder Shamkhani said he advised his son to go into the private sector rather than follow in his footsteps with a government post.

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Damascus’ Mazzeh 86 Neighborhood, Witness of The Two-Assad Era

Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
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Damascus’ Mazzeh 86 Neighborhood, Witness of The Two-Assad Era

Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi
Members of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent stand near the wreckage of a car after what the Syrian state television said was a "guided missile attack" on the car in the Mazzeh area of Damascus, Syria October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Firas Makdesi

In the Mazzeh 86 neighborhood, west of the Syrian capital Damascus, the names of many shops, grocery stores, and public squares still serve as a reminder of the era of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his late father, Hafez al-Assad.

This is evident in landmarks like the “Al-Hafez Restaurant,” one of the prominent features of this area. Squares such as “Al-Areen,” “Officers,” and “Bride of the Mountain” evoke memories of the buildings surrounding them, which once housed influential officials and high-ranking officers in intelligence and security agencies. These individuals instilled fear in Syrians for five decades until their historic escape on the night of the regime’s collapse last month.

In this neighborhood, the effects of Israeli bombing are clearly visible, as it was targeted multiple times. Meanwhile, its narrow streets and alleys were strewn with military uniforms abandoned by leaders who fled before military operations arrived and liberated the area from their grip on December 8 of last year.

Here, stark contradictions come to light during a tour by Asharq Al-Awsat in a district that, until recently, was largely loyal to the former president. Muaz, a 42-year-old resident of the area, recounts how most officers and security personnel shed their military uniforms and discarded them in the streets on the night of Assad’s escape.

He said: “Many of them brought down their weapons and military ranks in the streets and fled to their hometowns along the Syrian coast.”

Administratively part of Damascus, Mazzeh 86 consists of concrete blocks randomly built between the Mazzeh Western Villas area, the Mazzeh Highway, and the well-known Sheikh Saad commercial district. Its ownership originally belonged to the residents of the Mazzeh area in Damascus. The region was once agricultural land and rocky mountain terrain. The peaks extending toward Mount Qasioun were previously seized by the Ministry of Defense, which instructed security and army personnel to build homes there without requiring property ownership documents.

Suleiman, a 30-year-old shop owner, who sells white meat and chicken, hails from the city of Jableh in the coastal province of Latakia. His father moved to this neighborhood in the 1970s to work as an army assistant.

Suleiman says he hears the sound of gunfire every evening, while General Security patrols roam the streets “searching for remnants of the former regime and wanted individuals who refuse to surrender their weapons. We fear reprisals and just want to live in peace.”

He mentioned that prices before December 8 were exorbitant and beyond the purchasing power of Syrians, with the price of a kilogram of chicken exceeding 60,000 Syrian pounds and a carton of eggs reaching 75,000.

“A single egg was sold for 2,500 pounds, which is far beyond the purchasing power of any employee in the public or private sector,” due to low salaries and the deteriorating living conditions across the country,” Suleiman added.

On the sides of the roads, pictures of the fugitive president and his father, Hafez al-Assad, were torn down, while military vehicles were parked, awaiting instructions.

Maram, 46, who previously worked as a civilian employee in the Ministry of Defense, says she is waiting for the resolution of employment statuses for workers in army institutions. She stated: “So far, there are no instructions regarding our situation. The army forces and security personnel have been given the opportunity for settlement, but there is no talk about us.”

The neighborhood, in its current form, dates back to the 1980s when Rifaat al-Assad, the younger brother of former President Hafez al-Assad, was allowed to construct the “Defense Palace,” which was referred to as “Brigade 86.” Its location is the same area now known as Mazzeh Jabal 86.

The area is divided into two parts: Mazzeh Madrasa (School) and Mazzeh Khazan (Tank). The first takes its name from the first school built and opened in the area, while the second is named after the water tank that supplies the entire Mazzeh region.

Two sources from the Mazzeh Municipality and the Mukhtar’s office estimate the neighborhood’s current population at approximately 200,000, down from over 300,000 before Assad’s fall. Most residents originate from Syria’s coastal regions, followed by those from interior provinces like Homs and Hama. There was also a portion of Kurds who had moved from the Jazira region in northeastern Syria to live there, but most returned to their areas due to the security grip and after the “Crisis Cell” bombing that killed senior security officials in mid-2012.

Along the main street connecting Al-Huda Square to Al-Sahla Pharmacy, torn images of President Hafez al-Assad are visible for the first time in this area in five decades. On balconies and walls, traces of Bashar al-Assad’s posters remain, bearing witness to his 24-year era.