Iran Turns to Crypto Payments for Weapons Deals to Evade International Sanctions

TL;DR

• Iran’s defense export agency (Mindex) now accepts cryptocurrency as payment for weapons, alongside rials and barter.
• The U.S. Treasury has documented over $100M in crypto being used for Iranian oil sales, showing an established pattern.
• This adoption increases regulatory scrutiny on crypto exchanges and pushes compliance to develop better on-chain forensic tools.

Iran moved to broaden payment options for defense exports, signaling readiness to accept cryptocurrency alongside rials and barter. The Ministry of Defence Export Center (Mindex) outlined terms for buyers of ballistic missiles, warships, and other equipment, according to the Financial Times. 

Mindex markets relationships with 35 countries and promotes an online catalog featuring missiles, rockets, ammunition, and hovercraft. The offer first appeared in 2025 and now frames a clearer playbook for contracts where banks refuse service or impose delays.

Regulatory pressure defines the backdrop

United States, United Kingdom, and European Union sanctions target Iran’s energy revenue, weapons programs, and access to global banking. In response, Tehran expanded alternative channels: barter deals, shadow-fleet shipping, and digital asset settlement. Washington reacted with further designations, including 29 vessels linked to covert oil exports.

Officials named two Iranian nationals who arranged more than $100 million in Bitcoin and other tokens between 2023 and 2025 to clear oil sales for the state. The case fits a broader pattern of parallel finance that reduces reliance on SWIFT and correspondent banks. Mindex, poring over the same constraints, now courts buyers who prefer on-chain settlement to avoid wire blocks and de-risking reviews.

Sanctions, crypto rails, and compliance risk

Crypto payments can speed cross-border settlement and compress counterparty risk for importers of military hardware. Buyers avoid bank screening, settle on weekends, and move value across networks without fiat intermediaries. Sellers gain faster cash conversion and diversify reserves away from dollars.

The trade-off sits in exposure to sanctions law. Wallet screening, AML/CFT controls, and forensic tools can still trace flows across mixers, bridges, and OTC desks. Exchanges and custodians face penalties if they touch flagged wallets or sanctioned entities. Legal counsel in buyer jurisdictions will weigh contract terms against secondary-sanctions risk and export-control rules.

Site language promises timely delivery under national policy for sanctions circumvention. Compliance officers elsewhere read the same message as a warning: regulators can map on-chain paths, freeze assets, and pressure intermediaries. Insurance coverage and logistics also tighten when shipping lines or ports fear enforcement.

State-level acceptance of digital assets for weapons exports pushes policymakers to refine controls on custody, stablecoin issuance, and cross-chain liquidity. Exchanges, market-makers, and OTC brokers may face stricter onboarding rules and wallet-level blacklists. 

Digital assets now facilitate not only energy trade but also defense contracts where sanctioned actors chase reliable settlement.