Iran Eyes Belarus as Crucial Partner to Counter Sanctions
Belarusian President Lukashenko met with Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian in Minsk to announce a new strategic partnership and deepen ties amid Western sanctions.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Reuters and the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.
On August 20, self-proclaimed Belarusian President Lukashenko met with his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian in Minsk. Formally, the talks focused on trade, investment, industrial projects, and cooperation in science and education, as well as coordination in multilateral organizations—from the EAEU and SCO to BRICS and the UN.
Presidents Alexander Lukashenko and Masoud Pezeshkian also agreed to work on a strategic partnership agreement.
"In conditions of geopolitical turbulence, Minsk and Tehran are undertaking consistent and balanced steps to further develop cooperation, and are working hard to turn each new challenge into a new opportunity," Lukashenko said.
However, the real agenda was about more than just economic cooperation between the countries. According to Ukrainian foreign intelligence, Tehran is primarily seeking to restore its air defense systems and electronic warfare capabilities, which were seriously damaged during the recent war with Israel.
Iran supplied Russia with drones for use in the war against Ukraine. In January, Iranian President Raisi signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Putin, which, however, did not include provisions on mutual defense.
Both Iran and Belarus are subject to Western sanctions, which Pesezhkian called “illegal.” He also expressed his willingness to help Belarus “neutralize” these restrictive measures.
“Belarus, unlike Russia, is less restricted by sanctions in the military-technical sphere and could become a channel for restoring Iran's defense capabilities,” the report said.
Tehran is also interested in cooperating with Belarus in the energy and agricultural machinery sectors and plans to use the country as a channel for goods subject to sanctions.
As The Gaze informed earlier, on August 14, Ukrainian forces struck the port of Olya in Russia’s Astrakhan region to disrupt logistics and weaken the enemy’s air strike capabilities, targeting a hub used for Iranian military supplies.