Mindex, the export hub of Iran’s Ministry of Defense, is accepting cryptocurrency payment methods for advanced weapons systems as a means of circumventing international sanctions facing the country.
Potential customers can purchase weapons such as missiles, tanks and drones using cryptocurrency, among other accepted payment methods, including Iranian rials or barter, according to the center’s website.
Mindex is responsible for Iran’s defense sales abroad and claims to have customers in 35 countries.
Prices are not shown for available items.
The offer is one of the first known cases of a country accepting cryptocurrency as a means of payment for military equipment, the Financial Times previously reported.
However, the possibility of using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in transactions involving sanctioned countries is already well established. In early 2025, blockchain analytics provider Chainalysis reported that countries sanctioned by the United States had received nearly $16 billion in digital assets in the previous year.
United Nations (UN) sanctions against Iran underwent a new escalation in 2025, with the reimposition of those that had been lifted in 2015 in relation to the country’s nuclear program.
