Photos: Iran Markets Weapons at Doha DIMDEX Show After End of UN Arms Embargo

In October 2020, a United Nations arms embargo against Iran expired, per the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal, and Tehran once again became legally able to buy and sell military-grade weapons on the global market. However, due to its long isolation, the country has now developed numerous innovations on its own.

At the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX) hosted by the Qatari government this week, a delegation from the Islamic Republic of Iran revealed new weapons to sell on the international market, including an export version of its Bavar 373 air defense missile system.

A battery of the air defense system includes up to six truck-mounted transporter-erector-launcher (TEL), phased array radar, a tracking radar, and a combat control post. Each TEL carries two Sayyad-4 anti-air missiles, which can take down air targets 260 kilometers away at altitudes up to 27 kilometers. The export version has been dubbed the AD-200 and is advertised as being similar to Russia’s top-level S-400 system, which Iran considered buying in the past.

A functioning missile battery wasn’t dragged across the Persian Gulf to the show, however, as instead a model illustrating the systems was displayed.

A model of an Iranian Bavar-373 (AD-200) launch system missile is seen at a stand at the DIMDEX exhibition in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Iran, under sweeping economic sanctions, was hawking weapons on Wednesday at a Qatari defense exhibit, a surprising sight at the major conference also showcasing American companies and fighter jets.

© AP Photo / Lujain Jo

Other weapons spotted at the show included mock-ups of the CM-90 Nasr-1 anti-ship missile and an air-launched version, the CM-35.

Two different models of Iranian Nasr-1 anti-ship cruise missiles are seen at a stand at the DIMDEX exhibition in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, March 23, 2022.

© AP Photo / Lujain Jo

The Iranian display also included a variety of machine guns mounted on tripods, which were viewed by potential buyers, including Qatari Maj. Gen. Salem al-Nabet, chief of staff of the Qatari military.

Qatari armed forces chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Salem al-Nabet, left, visits Iran's pavilion during the DIMDEX exhibition in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, March 23, 2022.

© AP Photo / Lujain Jo

Iran's Pavilion at the DIMDEX exhibition in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Iran, under sweeping economic sanctions, was hawking weapons on Wednesday at a Qatari defense exhibit, a surprising sight at the major conference also showcasing American companies and fighter jets.

© AP Photo / Lujain Jo

According to Reuters, the display was overseen by leaders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a paramilitary group that was designated a terrorist organization by the US in 2019, despite having no proven ties to any terrorist attack. Last week, Axios reported that the Biden administration was considering revoking the designation as part of the deal to revive the JCPOA.

Numerous other countries sent delegations and even warships to Doha for the DIMDEX show, including the US, which was perhaps unironically positioned next to the Iranian display. One US item on display was the MQ-9 Reaper drone, which in January 2019 was used to assassinate the commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, during a peace visit to Baghdad, Iraq.

The Qatari monarchy is one of the rare countries that balances relations between the US and Iran, both hosting a large US military base and sharing the North Dome/South Pars gas condensate field, the world’s largest, with Iran underneath the Persian Gulf. Iran and Qatar grew closer during a four-year Arab boycott of the emirate organized by Saudi Arabia, which was reportedly motivated, in part, by Doha’s growing closeness to Tehran.

Last month, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi paid a visit to Doha and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the two states signed 14 agreements on topics relating to economics, investment, tourism, and media cooperation.

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