On Thursday, Iran’s defense minister told a senior Belarusian military-industrial official visiting Tehran that the country aims to strengthen military cooperation with Minsk as both nations face severe Western sanctions.
“Iran welcomes the expansion of defense and industrial cooperation with friendly and independent countries, and Belarus holds a special place in this partnership,” Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh told Belarus’s chairman of the State Authority for Military-Industrial Cooperation in a visit to Tehran, according to state media, News.Az reports citing Iranian media.
Iran and Belarus have both turned to Russia for economic and defense support amid harsh sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe, but advanced air defense systems provided by Moscow were likely destroyed in Israeli attacks last year.
Tehran has supplied Moscow with drones and ammunition for its invasion of Ukraine, while Minsk has hosted Russian troops and allowed its territory to be used as a launchpad for attacks.
Both governments see closer coordination with Russia as a counterweight to Western pressure.
Minsk and Moscow have been joined in a supranational Union State since 1999.
US sanctions on Belarus include prohibitions on transactions with key government entities such as the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Belarus and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, as well as restrictions on exports and re-exports.