The United States intensified its financial sanctions campaign by blocking about US$ 131 million in cryptocurrencies allegedly linked to the government of Iran. The measure comes amid worsening tensions in the Middle East and expands the efforts of American authorities to limit the country's access to resources obtained through operations considered illegal.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on the social network X that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed new sanctions against several digital wallets associated with the Central Bank of Iran. According to the American government, the initiative is part of the strategy to disrupt financing mechanisms used by Iranian entities.
Commenting on the operation, Bessent stated:
“We will continue to aggressively track the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the profits from its illicit fundraising schemes.”
In parallel, the blockchain investigator known as Specter reported that Tether froze four wallets on the TRON network that held approximately US$ 131 million in USDT. According to the published analysis, a large portion of these funds allegedly originated from withdrawals previously made through DTC Pay and the Bitso exchange.
Later, Specter stated that the blocked wallets were allegedly linked to organizations already sanctioned by OFAC, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The freeze represents one of the largest recent actions involving stablecoins and international sanctions.
The measure was announced while the conflict between the United States and Iran is once again gaining intensity after the ceasefire collapsed. American forces reported the resumption of the naval blockade of Iranian ports and maintained attacks against military targets for the fourth consecutive day.
In response, Iranian authorities said they had carried out new drone attacks against the Al-Azraq military base in Jordan during the seventh phase of the so-called "Lightning Operation." According to the state broadcaster IRIB, military installations, barracks, and equipment depots were among the targets hit.
At the same time, the current president of the United States, Donald Trump, said in an interview that the country may expand military operations, including attacks against bridges and power plants, if Tehran does not resume negotiations.
The blocking of the wallets comes just a few months after another similar operation. In April, Tether had already frozen more than US$ 344 million in USDT at the request of American authorities.
In addition, the Treasury Department recently expanded sanctions against Iran's cryptocurrency sector by including the exchanges Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex in the "Economic Fury" campaign. According to the U.S. government, these platforms facilitated transactions related to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and helped Iran circumvent economic restrictions through cryptocurrencies.
American authorities also claim that Nobitex accounted for more than half of cryptocurrency inflows into Iran during 2025 and helped the Iranian Central Bank move hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins, reinforcing the sanctions' focus on the digital asset market.
