Iran seeks Belarus help to restore air defense systems, Ukraine's intelligence says
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Iran is interested in receiving assistance from Belarus to restore its air defense and electronic warfare systems damaged during the recent escalation with Israel, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service reported on Aug. 22.
A war between Iran and Israel broke out on June 13, with both sides agreeing to a ceasefire on June 24. Just hours after the ceasefire was announced, both countries launched attacks against each other. Despite these initial violations, the truce now appears to be holding.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Minsk on Aug. 20.
While the official agenda focused on trade, investment, and broader cooperation, Ukrainian intelligence says that behind closed doors, Tehran also sought Belarusian help in military-technical support.
"Unlike Russia, Belarus is less restricted by sanctions in the military-technical sphere and could become a channel for restoring Iran’s defense capabilities," the statement read.
Both Tehran and Minsk are Moscow's allies in its full-scale war against Ukraine. Iran has supplied Russia with drones and ballistic missiles used in attacks on Ukraine, while Belarus allowed the Kremlin to use its territory as a staging ground for its operations against Ukraine.
Iran is also seeking assistance to address severe shortages of power generation equipment and agricultural machinery, according to the report.
"For Minsk, this presents the prospect of participating in projects that go far beyond the officially announced topics. Iran plans to use Belarus as another channel to access sanctioned goods," the intelligence said.
