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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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The Fragile Israel-Hezbollah Truce is Holding so Far, Despite Violations

Mariam Kourani removes a toy car from the rubble of her destroyed house after returning with her family to the Hanouiyeh village in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 28, 2024, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
Mariam Kourani removes a toy car from the rubble of her destroyed house after returning with her family to the Hanouiyeh village in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 28, 2024, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
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The Fragile Israel-Hezbollah Truce is Holding so Far, Despite Violations

Mariam Kourani removes a toy car from the rubble of her destroyed house after returning with her family to the Hanouiyeh village in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 28, 2024, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
Mariam Kourani removes a toy car from the rubble of her destroyed house after returning with her family to the Hanouiyeh village in southern Lebanon, on Nov. 28, 2024, following a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanon's Hezbollah has held up for over a month, even as its terms seem unlikely to be met by the agreed-upon deadline.

The deal struck on Nov. 27 to halt the war required Hezbollah to immediately lay down its arms in southern Lebanon and gave Israel 60 days to withdraw its forces there and hand over control to the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers.

So far, Israel has withdrawn from just two of the dozens of towns it holds in southern Lebanon. And it has continued striking what it says are bases belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of attempting to launch rockets and move weapons before they can be confiscated and destroyed, The AP reported.

Hezbollah, which was severely diminished during nearly 14 months of war, has threatened to resume fighting if Israel does not fully withdraw its forces by the 60-day deadline.

Yet despite accusations from both sides about hundreds of ceasefire violations, the truce is likely to hold, analysts say. That is good news for thousands of Israeli and Lebanese families displaced by the war still waiting to return home.

“The ceasefire agreement is rather opaque and open to interpretation,” said Firas Maksad, a senior fellow with the Middle East Institute in Washington. That flexibility, he said, may give it a better chance of holding in the face of changing circumstances, including the ouster of Syria's longtime leader, Bashar Assad, just days after the ceasefire took effect.

With Assad gone, Hezbollah lost a vital route for smuggling weapons from Iran. While that further weakened Hezbollah’s hand, Israel had already agreed to the US-brokered ceasefire.

Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on Oct. 8, 2023 — the day after Hamas launched a deadly attack into Israel that ignited the ongoing war in Gaza. Since then, Israeli air and ground assaults have killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians. At the height of the war, more than 1 million Lebanese people were displaced.

Hezbollah rockets forced some 60,000 from their homes in northern Israel, and killed 76 people in Israel, including 31 soldiers. Almost 50 Israeli soldiers were killed during operations inside Lebanon.

Here’s a look at the terms of the ceasefire and its prospects for ending hostilities over the long-term.

What does the ceasefire agreement say? The agreement says that both Hezbollah and Israel will halt “offensive” military actions, but that they can act in self-defense, although it is not entirely clear how that term may be interpreted.

The Lebanese army is tasked with preventing Hezbollah and other militant groups from launching attacks into Israel. It is also required to dismantle Hezbollah facilities and weapons in southern Lebanon — activities that might eventually be expanded to the rest of Lebanon, although it is not explicit in the ceasefire agreement.

The United States, France, Israel, Lebanon and the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, are responsible for overseeing implementation of the agreement.

“The key question is not whether the deal will hold, but what version of it will be implemented,” Maksad, the analyst, said.

Is the ceasefire being implemented? Hezbollah has for the most part halted its rocket and drone fire into Israel, and Israel has stopped attacking Hezbollah in most areas of Lebanon. But Israel has launched regular airstrikes on what it says are militant sites in southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa Valley.

Israeli forces have so far withdrawn from two towns in southern Lebanon - Khiam and Shamaa. They remain in some 60 others, according to the International Organization for Migration, and around 160,000 Lebanese remain displaced.

Lebanon has accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement and last week submitted a complaint to the UN Security Council that says Israel launched some 816 “ground and air attacks” between the start of the ceasefire and Dec. 22, 2024.

The complaint said the attacks have hindered the Lebanese army's efforts to deploy in the south and uphold its end of the ceasefire agreement.

Until Israel hands over control of more towns to the Lebanese army, Israeli troops have been destroying Hezbollah infrastructure, including weapons warehouses and underground tunnels. Lebanese authorities say Israel has also destroyed civilian houses and infrastructure.

What happens after the ceasefire has been in place for 60 days? Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese towns has been slower than anticipated because of a lack of Lebanese army troops ready to take over, according to Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a military spokesman. Lebanon disputes this, and says it is waiting for Israel to withdraw before entering the towns.

Shoshani said Israel is satisfied with the Lebanese army's control of the areas it has already withdrawn from, and that while it would prefer a faster transfer of power, security is its most important objective.

Israel does not consider the 60-day timetable for withdrawal to be “sacred,” said Harel Chorev, an expert on Israel-Lebanon relations at Tel Aviv University who estimates that Lebanon will need to recruit and deploy thousands more troops before Israel will be ready to hand over control.

Hezbollah officials have said that if Israeli forces remain in Lebanon 60 days past the start of the ceasefire, the militant group might return to attacking them. But Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Kassem said Wednesday that, for now, the group is holding off to give the Lebanese state a chance to "take responsibility” for enforcing the agreement.

Over the final two months of the war, Hezbollah suffered major blows to its leadership, weapons and forces from a barrage of Israeli airstrikes, and a ground invasion that led to fierce battles in southern Lebanon. The fall of Assad was another big setback.

“The power imbalance suggests Israel may want to ensure greater freedom of action after the 60-day period,” Maksad, the analyst, said. And Hezbollah, in its weakened position, now has a “strong interest” in making sure the deal doesn't fall apart altogether “despite Israeli violations,” he said.

While Hezbollah may not be in a position to return to open war with Israel, it or other groups could mount guerilla attacks using light weaponry if Israeli troops remain in southern Lebanon, said former Lebanese army Gen. Hassan Jouni. And even if Israel does withdraw all of its ground forces, Jouni said, the Israeli military could could continue to carry out sporadic airstrikes in Lebanon, much as it has done in Syria for years.