Financial Times: Iran offers to sell advanced weapons in exchange for cryptocurrencies to bypass Western sanctions
A report by the Financial Times newspaper revealed that Iran is moving to use cryptocurrencies as a way to bypass Western sanctions imposed on it, by offering advanced weapons for sale to foreign governments in exchange for paying with digital currencies.
This move comes as part of Tehran’s attempts to save its economy from the suffocating financial crisis it is suffering from.
According to the report, the weapons on offer include ballistic missiles, drones, and warships, and these offers were made through the Iranian Defense Ministry’s export center known as “Mindex,” which announced its willingness to negotiate military contracts that allow payment in cryptocurrencies, in addition to barter or Iranian rials.
This offer is one of the first known cases in which a country has announced its willingness to accept cryptocurrencies for the export of strategic military equipment.
Mindex, the government body responsible for overseas defense sales, points to having ties to 35 countries and showcases weapons including Emad ballistic missiles, Shahid drones, Shahid Soleimani warships, as well as short-range air defense systems.
The commission’s website includes small arms and anti-ship cruise missiles, some of which have previously been used by Iranian-backed armed groups in the Middle East, according to Western government and United Nations reports.
The website is operated via a local Iranian cloud service that is subject to US Treasury Department sanctions, and provides a portal and chatbot to guide customers through the purchase process, including answering questions about the execution of contracts under sanctions.
The website confirms that weapons can be delivered to the buyer “as soon as possible” despite financial constraints, and provides in-person inspection of goods in Iran, subject to approval from security authorities.
The move comes as countries facing US and European sanctions are increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies and other alternative financial channels to sustain their trade, with US authorities previously accusing Iran of using digital assets to facilitate oil sales and transfer hundreds of millions of dollars out of the formal banking system.
In September, the US Treasury Department sanctioned individuals linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for running a parallel banking network that uses cryptocurrencies to process payments on behalf of the Iranian state.
This comes as part of Washington’s efforts to prevent any financial transactions with Iran that may violate sanctions and affect the global economy.
With this move, Iran’s economy is showing exceptional efforts to exploit financial innovations to bypass Western restrictions, presenting the international system with new challenges in controlling military trade and complying with sanctions.
