On August 20, the self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Lukashenko, met in Minsk with his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian. Officially, the talks focused on trade, investments, industrial projects, cooperation in science and education, and coordination in multilateral organizations—from the EAEU and SCO to BRICS and the UN.
However, the real agenda differed from the official statements. For Tehran, the key issue was the possibility of restoring air defense systems and electronic warfare equipment severely damaged during the recent war with Israel. Unlike Russia, Belarus faces fewer military-technical sanctions and could serve as a channel for rebuilding Iran’s defense capabilities.
Additionally, Tehran is interested in addressing its acute shortage of power generation and agricultural machinery. For Minsk, this presents opportunities to participate in projects far beyond the officially announced topics. Iran plans to use Belarus as another channel to access sanctioned goods.
