Cryptopolitan 2026-01-02 02:27:46

Iran’s state‑run arms agency Mindex says foreign buyers can pay in crypto

Iran is now letting other countries buy missiles, drones, warships, and more using cryptocurrency, according to its state-backed arms export agency, Mindex.Crypto, barter, and Iranian rials are all valid payment methods. The offer started sometime last year and signals one of the first public cases where a country is openly accepting crypto for military weapons. Mindex says it has clients in 35 countries. The catalog is stacked. It includes Emad ballistic missiles, Shahed drones, Shahid Soleimani-class warships, and air defense systems. There are also cruise missiles, small arms, and rockets; some of which have already been seen in the hands of Iran-backed armed groups, according to western governments and the United Nations. Mindex platform lists war gear, takes crypto, and shrugs at sanctions The Mindex site is up, public, and slick. It’s in several languages. The domain is hosted on an Iranian cloud provider that’s already under U.S. Treasury sanctions. That host, according to Washington, has ties to Iranian intelligence. The Financial Times allegedly confirmed the site’s authenticity through archive data and server records. The buying process is digital. There’s a chatbot, an online portal, and an FAQ page. That page straight up asks: “Given the sanctions on Iran, what is the guarantee that the contract will be executed and the product will reach the destination country?” Mindex answers: “It should be noted that, given the general policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding circumvention of sanctions, there is no problem in implementing the contract. Your purchased product will reach you as soon as possible.” No prices are listed, but buyers can request in-person inspections of the goods in Iran. That’s “subject to approval from security authorities.” And if you want to pay in your own country instead of Iran, that’s an option too. There are some conditions. Mindex says clients must agree to rules on how weapons are used, specifically “during a war with another country.” But the company notes that these terms are negotiable between the two sides. In other words, if you’ve got the crypto, they’ll talk. Sanctioned governments eye crypto to keep deals alive This all comes at a time when more and more sanctioned countries are testing cryptocurrency to keep their economies moving. Russia has already been caught doing it. Now Iran is making it part of its military business model. The U.S. Treasury has warned about this before. It’s hit Russian companies for using digital assets to evade sanctions. And Iran has already been under fire for doing the same with oil sales, moving hundreds of millions outside normal banks. Back in September, U.S. officials sanctioned people linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards for running what they called a “shadow banking” network using crypto. The goal: move state funds while dodging detection. Western countries aren’t happy. The UK, France, and Germany tried to restart talks with Iran. It didn’t work. In August, they triggered a UN process to snap back global sanctions after those talks collapsed. Even so, Iran keeps exporting. In 2024, it ranked 18th worldwide for arms exports, right behind Norway and Australia, according to the Stockholm Institute for Peace Research. That same year, the Atlantic Council said Iran could cash in on Russia’s export struggles following its Ukraine invasion. Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.