Iran to Start Accepting Russian Mir Payment Cards Soon

A photo taken on March 14, 2022, shows a Russian ruble coin and the Russian Mir payment system logo on a bank card in Moscow. (AFP via Getty Images)
A photo taken on March 14, 2022, shows a Russian ruble coin and the Russian Mir payment system logo on a bank card in Moscow. (AFP via Getty Images)
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Iran to Start Accepting Russian Mir Payment Cards Soon

A photo taken on March 14, 2022, shows a Russian ruble coin and the Russian Mir payment system logo on a bank card in Moscow. (AFP via Getty Images)
A photo taken on March 14, 2022, shows a Russian ruble coin and the Russian Mir payment system logo on a bank card in Moscow. (AFP via Getty Images)

Iran will soon start accepting payments made with Russia's Mir bank cards, a top official was quoted by Russia's RIA news agency as saying, making it the latest country to adopt the Russian-made alternative to Visa and Mastercard.

"I think this payment system will be activated in Iran soon," RIA quoted Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy Medhi Safari as saying on Wednesday.

Moscow has acted to forge close ties with Tehran since it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 as the Kremlin, decried as a pariah in the West, attempts to build new economic and diplomatic partnerships elsewhere.

South Korea and Cuba have also recently started accepting Mir - which means both "peace" and "world" in Russian. The cards also work in popular tourist destinations Turkey and Vietnam and some former Soviet republics.

Both Russia and Iran are under heavy US and European Union sanctions that have blocked their access to key parts of the global financial infrastructure.

The two are also working to create a rival to the SWIFT payments messaging service that underpins cross-border payments across the global economy, Safari said. Several Russian banks have been ejected from Belgium-based SWIFT since Feb. 24.

"Countries that want to de-dollarize their transactions must have a special system similar to SWIFT," RIA quoted Safari as saying.

"The Iranian and Russian sides have each proposed an option...We have reached a very good agreement on the basis of which we can carry out currency transactions between the two countries."

Russian cards issued by Visa and Mastercard stopped functioning overseas after the world's two largest payment processing networks suspended operations in early March.



Satellite Imagery: New Pier Completed at North Korea Rocket Launch Site

HANDOUT - 14 July 2025, North Korea, Ragwon: A Picture released by the North Korean State News Agency (KCNA) on 13 July 2025, shows  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting an offshore farm under construction in the town of Ragwon. Photo: -/KCNA/KNS/dpa
HANDOUT - 14 July 2025, North Korea, Ragwon: A Picture released by the North Korean State News Agency (KCNA) on 13 July 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting an offshore farm under construction in the town of Ragwon. Photo: -/KCNA/KNS/dpa
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Satellite Imagery: New Pier Completed at North Korea Rocket Launch Site

HANDOUT - 14 July 2025, North Korea, Ragwon: A Picture released by the North Korean State News Agency (KCNA) on 13 July 2025, shows  North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting an offshore farm under construction in the town of Ragwon. Photo: -/KCNA/KNS/dpa
HANDOUT - 14 July 2025, North Korea, Ragwon: A Picture released by the North Korean State News Agency (KCNA) on 13 July 2025, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting an offshore farm under construction in the town of Ragwon. Photo: -/KCNA/KNS/dpa

Satellite imagery indicates that a new maritime pier has been completed at North Korea's key rocket station, where the latest spy satellite launches and other rocket tests have been conducted, satellite operator ICEYE said.

The pier at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station seen via the imagery "enables transport of larger rocket components than previously possible via rail", ICEYE said in findings provided to Reuters. Larger components would allow the site to host rockets that can travel longer distances.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2022 inspected the Sohae facility and ordered it to be modernized and expanded to ensure that various rockets, including those capable of carrying military spy satellites, could be launched, state media said.

The facility has been used to put a satellite in orbit and also to test various missile components including rocket engines and space launch vehicles that South Korean and US officials say require similar technology to that used in intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

An image from July 9 also shows the pier with a newly constructed jetty and vessels indicating potential operational status, according to ICEYE, a sign that could help enhance Sohae's logistical capabilities.

ICEYE added that it took about 28 months from initial reports to develop and complete the pier.

Work to expand the road and rail infrastructure throughout the facility continues, according to 38 North, a Washington-based North Korea monitoring program.

Satellite images, taken from December to July by the commercial satellite firm Planet Labs, also show what appears to be a pier under construction on the shore.

Pyongyang's latest attempt to launch a military spy satellite at the Sohae site failed in May 2024 but Kim has vowed to never give up the space reconnaissance project that he views as crucial for national self defense against enemy threats.

North Korea successfully placed its first spy satellite in orbit in November 2023.

As part of growing military ties with Moscow, North Korea is likely getting help from Russia on its satellite program in exchange for sending troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, South Korean officials have said.

North Korea says its military activities, including nuclear weapons, are its sovereign right and only for self defense. It accused the United States and its allies of threatening it with "hostile policies" such as military drills and sanctions.