The export center of the Iranian Ministry of Defense Mindex has offered foreign governments contracts for the supply of modern weapons systems with payment in cryptocurrency and Iranian rials.
The department is ready to conclude barter deals, the financial newspaper "Financial Times" (FT) wrote, citing materials from the center.
This is one of the first known cases in which the state has publicly declared its readiness to accept cryptocurrency as payment for the export of strategic military equipment, the newspaper notes. In this way, the authorities seek to circumvent Western financial restrictions.
Mindex claims to cooperate with 30-35 countries.
The catalog of weapons for export includes Emad ballistic missiles, Shahed drones, Shahid Soleimani-class ships and short-range air defense systems.
The center's website, available in several languages, also offers small arms and anti-ship cruise missiles, some of which, according to Western countries and the United Nations, have been used by Tehran-backed groups in the Middle East.
Mindex says buyers must agree to terms for the weapons to be used "in times of war with another country," noting that the terms can be "negotiated between the parties."
Countries that make payments to Iran through traditional financial systems can fall under secondary sanctions from the US, EU and UK. As the "Financial Times" writes, US authorities have previously accused Iran of using digital assets to sell oil and operating "shadow banking" networks.
According to the assessment of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in 2024 Iran ranked 18th in the world in terms of arms exports, behind Norway and Australia.