Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Defense and aerospace industrial firms from the Islamic Republic of Iran that had been scheduled and confirmed to participate in Defense Services Asia (DSA) exposition and the National Security (NATSEC) Asia conference 2026 – one of the region’s largest such parallel events – have called off their participation in this major international forum. According to Malaysian Defense Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, the Iranians canceled at the very last minute, citing logistical issues as the chief reason for their absence.
Iran Withdraws from Major Conference
Iranian firms had participated in the previous outing of these two side-by-side events and had also been present in May 2025 at Malaysia’s other high-profile defense industrial forum, the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition.
According to representatives from the exposition’s organizers here in KL, the Iranians had been planning to attend this year as exhibitors and not just as “walking the floor” trade visitors – despite their nation being in the middle of a war.
“We can see that Iran is not able to participate, even though at the beginning, before the war, they said they were ready. But this time, companies from Iran have withdrawn,” Khaled said during a press conference after his walkabout at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Center (MITEC), which has been the venue for this event since the facility was first opened almost a decade ago.
“I think we should understand and accept that they [Iran] are facing various challenges. If they want to travel or send their products, there will surely be some difficulties. There is nothing political, but the problems they are facing and the situation there will create difficulties for them in terms of logistics and related matters.”
Long-Standing Ties
The Malaysian Defense Minister also emphasized that Iran’s absence on this occasion does not indicate a downgrade in relations between the two nations, nor does it mean that KL is giving up on the long-standing defense and security ties the two nations have shared for years.
In his announcement regarding Iran’s decision not to attend this year, he also said that any political tensions in West Asia were not a factor in the Iranians’ decision.
The Minister said, “We respect their position and stance, but this is a trade show. As I said, this is a neutral platform. Even if those companies are not participating, they have long had offices in Malaysia. They typically come once every two years, or sometimes annually, to showcase their products when we organize DSA or other events.”
Both DSA and LIMA have been outliers in the annual calendar of international defense and security forums. Malaysia has consistently stressed that it is neutral in the various military conflicts across different regions over the past few years.
To that end, defense industrial firms from nations that are under international sanctions, like Russia, Iran, and military enterprise holding companies from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), have almost always been welcome at Malaysian-sponsored events.
Some of the firms under US sanctions seen at this year’s DSA were Northern Industries of China (NORINCO), China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation (CPMIEC), and the Russian industrial conglomerate, Rostec.
New Forums Not Bothered by Sanctions
Representatives from European and Asian defense concerns told 19FortyFive that a growing number of expos are being organized in countries in the same category as Malaysia; they stated that their non-aligned status does not obligate them to reject applications from Iran, Russia, and others.
“You do not see the Russians or the Iranians at many of the world’s most long-running international defense trade shows,” said one representative from a Mideastern nation. So, you are unlikely to see them anytime again soon at Le Bourget [Paris] or Eurosatory or DSEi.”
“But in more recent times, nations such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia are now hosting their own international expos,” he continued. “They are not bothered by the embargoes and other restrictions that bar Iran, Russia, and North Korea from the European shows.”
It is also possible that Iranian defense industrial firms were prohibited from traveling to Malaysia this week due to new security restrictions. Earlier today, Singapore time, it was announced in some reports that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which is an elite formation that is separate from the Iranian Armed Forces, had essentially seized control of all government functions in Iran. 19FortyFive cannot confirm this independently.
A Change In Iran?
A report from today by the news site Iran International said the IRGC has assumed authority over all key state functions – almost like a military coup. Other sites, such as FoxNews, published similar reports. 19FortyFive cannot confirm such reports.
“It was always a matter of when, not if, the IRGC was going to step forward even more than it has in the last three decades,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the American news channel Fox News today.
Specialists here in KL at the DSA event who are familiar with the situation in Iran are suggesting that the IRGC could have been the entity that canceled the Iran delegation’s scheduled travel to Malaysia. They could have done so on the grounds that some delegation members might be predisposed to take advantage of being outside Iran and use that opportunity to defect.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson has thirty-six years of experience analyzing and reporting on foreign weapons systems, defense technologies, and international arms export policy. Johnson is the Director of Research at the Casimir Pulaski Foundation. He is also a survivor of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He worked for years in the American defense industry as a foreign technology analyst and later as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, the Departments of the Navy and Air Force, and the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia. In 2022-2023, he won two awards in a row for his defense reporting. He holds a bachelor’s degree from DePauw University and a master’s degree from Miami University in Ohio, specializing in Soviet and Russian studies. He lives in Warsaw.
