Mindex, the export center of the Iranian Defense Ministry, accepts cryptocurrency payment methods for advanced weapons systems to circumvent international sanctions the country faces.
Prospective customers can purchase weapons such as missiles, tanks and drones using crypto, among other accepted payment methods including Iranian rial or barter, according to the center’s website.
Mindex is responsible for Iranian defense sales abroad and claims to have customers in 35 countries.
No prices are displayed for available items.
The offering is one of the first known cases of a country accepting cryptocurrency as payment for military equipment, according to the Financial Times, which reported the news earlier.
The possibility of using cryptocurrency as a means of payment in transactions involving sanctioned countries is, however, already well established. In early 2025, blockchain analytics provider Chainalysis reported that U.S.-sanctioned countries received nearly $16 billion in digital assets in the previous year.
UN sanctions against Iran saw a further escalation in 2025, with the reimposition of those lifted in 2015 linked to the country’s nuclear program.
