Iran's Mindex Accepts Cryptocurrency for Advanced Weapons Sales
Mindex, the export center of Iran's Ministry of Defense, has begun accepting cryptocurrency as payment for advanced weapons systems, including missiles, tanks, and drones. Alongside cryptocurrency, prospective buyers can also pay using the Iranian rial or through barter, though prices are not displayed on the center's website. Mindex manages Iran's overseas defense sales and claims to have clients in 35 countries. The Financial Times has noted this as one of the first known instances of a country accepting cryptocurrency for military equipment. Payments in cryptocurrency to countries under sanction are described as already well established; according to Chainalysis, nearly $16 billion in digital assets flowed to U.S.-sanctioned countries in 2024. Notably, UN sanctions on Iran were re-imposed in 2025, reinstating measures that had been lifted in 2015 in relation to Iran's nuclear program.
