FT: Iran offers advanced weapons sales paid in cryptocurrency to bypass sanctions

Iran is offering to sell advanced weapons systems, including ballistic missiles, drones and warships, to foreign governments with payment accepted in cryptocurrency, an apparent attempt to circumvent Western financial sanctions.

According to promotional materials and payment terms reviewed by the Financial Times, Iran’s Ministry of Defence Export Center (Mindex) has, over the past year, begun offering military export contracts that allow settlement in digital currencies, as well as through barter arrangements and Iranian rials.

The initiative appears to be one of the first publicly documented cases in which a nation state has openly signalled its willingness to accept cryptocurrency as payment for the export of strategic military hardware.

Mindex, a state-run entity overseeing Iran’s overseas defence sales, says it maintains client relationships with 35 countries. Its publicly accessible website advertises a range of weapons systems, including Emad ballistic missiles, Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles, Shahid Soleimani-class warships and short-range air defence systems.

The catalogue also lists small arms, rockets and anti-ship cruise missiles — weapons that Western governments and United Nations reports say have been supplied by Iran to allied militant groups across the Middle East.

The Financial Times verified the authenticity of the Mindex website through archived versions, domain registration data and an analysis of its technical infrastructure. The site is hosted on an Iranian domestic cloud service that is under US Treasury sanctions and has been described by Washington as having close links to Iran’s intelligence services.

According to Mindex’s terms, prospective buyers must agree to conditions governing the use of the weapons “during a war with another country”, although the organisation notes that such provisions are “negotiable between the contracting parties”.

While prices are not publicly disclosed, Mindex says payment can also be arranged in the destination country and that buyers may conduct in-person inspections of equipment in Iran, subject to approval by security authorities.

The move comes amid growing evidence that countries under extensive US and European sanctions are increasingly turning to cryptocurrency and alternative financial channels to sustain trade in sensitive goods. The United States has previously imposed sanctions on Russian entities accused of using digital assets to evade Western restrictions.

By Sabina Mammadli