Belarus Ready to Broaden Ties with Iran in Defiance of Sanctions: Defense Minister

Although Western governments have imposed sanctions and exerted pressures on Belarus, Minsk is ready to strengthen and promote cooperation with Iran in various areas, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart on the sidelines of a conference of defense ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in Astana.

Khrenin also condemned the Israeli regime’s April 1 airstrike on Iran’s diplomatic mission in Damascus as a violation of international law, hailing Iran’s “wise and prudent” retaliatory operation in response to the Israeli attack.

For his part, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said Tehran and Minsk share views on major regional and international issues and have always supported each other’s stances and measures.

Denouncing the Israeli regime’s genocidal and war crimes against Gaza and its fatal attack on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Syria, Ashtiani said the independent states are expected to condemn the Israeli regime’s brazen violation of international law.

He then highlighted the high capacities of Iran and Belarus in the military and defense sectors, voicing Tehran’s readiness for closer cooperation with Minsk.

The two ministers finally called for the implementation of the defense agreements between their countries.

During Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s state visit to Iran in March 2023, the two states signed a road map to comprehensive cooperation in addition to several agreements in various fields.