Iran International:

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the Armed Forces General Staff have been negotiating with commercial partners in China to acquire missiles, drones and air defense systems as payment for oil shipments, an informed source told Iran International.

According to the source, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' main Chinese partner is Haokun Energy Group, a Beijing-based company that owes Iran nearly $1 billion for oil transactions with IRGC-linked firms over the past several years.

An oil firm closely linked to Iran's conventional armed forces has been pursuing air defense kit from a Chinese customer, the source added.

"The oil headquarters in the Armed Forces General Staff and the IRGC are using their commercial connections in China to contact Chinese companies for procurement of Chinese strategic weapons systems, mainly missiles, UAVs and air defense systems," the source told Iran International.

The Iranian military organizations, the source added, want the Chinese companies act as intermediaries and facilitators for Chinese state-owned defense manufacturers, to settle debts or structure oil-for-arms deals.

Haokun Energy, which is operated by former Chinese military officials, was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in May 2022 for allegedly purchasing millions of barrels of oil from IRGC foreign operations division, the Quds Force.

“A high-ranking IRGC delegation in September visited China to negotiate with Haokun executives over the settlement of the outstanding debt,” the source said.

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