The United States Treasury has imposed sanctions on two cryptocurrency exchanges tied to Iran’s financial system, marking the first time Washington has directly targeted digital asset platforms under its Iran sanctions regime.
In a statement released Friday, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the measures are part of a broader crackdown on Iranian officials and networks accused of violently repressing citizens while using alternative financial channels to circumvent international sanctions.
Among those sanctioned was Iran’s interior minister, Eskandar Momeni Kalagari, who oversees the country’s Law Enforcement Forces. “Treasury will continue to target Iranian networks and corrupt elites that enrich themselves at the expense of the Iranian people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
OFAC also designated Babak Morteza Zanjani, a prominent Iranian businessman previously convicted of embezzling billions of dollars in oil revenues from Iran’s national oil company. According to the Treasury, Zanjani was later released from prison and allegedly leveraged by the Iranian state to move and launder funds, supporting projects linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
UK-registered crypto exchanges targeted
In a first-of-its-kind move, the sanctions extend to two UK-registered crypto exchanges—Zedcex Exchange Ltd. and Zedxion Exchange Ltd.—which US authorities say are connected to Zanjani. OFAC alleged the platforms processed large volumes of transactions involving IRGC-linked entities, noting that Zedcex alone has handled more than $94 billion in transactions since registering in 2022.
“This marks OFAC’s first designation of a digital asset exchange for operating in the financial sector of the Iranian economy,” the Treasury said.
Bessent accused Tehran of diverting oil revenues toward weapons programs and militant proxies rather than supporting its population, adding that the US will continue targeting networks that exploit digital assets to evade sanctions and finance illicit activity.
Beyond crypto-related actions, OFAC also sanctioned senior IRGC commanders and security officials across multiple provinces, citing evidence of live-fire attacks on protesters, forced burials without funerals, and systematic intimidation aimed at suppressing dissent.
Iran’s use of USDT under scrutiny
Separately, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic reported last week that Iran’s central bank accumulated more than $500 million worth of Tether’s USDt during a period of severe economic strain. Elliptic suggested the stablecoin was likely used to support the rapidly weakening rial or to facilitate international trade.
The accumulation reportedly began as the rial lost about half its value over eight months, with Elliptic noting that the central bank may have used USDT on the local exchange Nobitex to buy rials—mirroring traditional central bank market interventions through crypto channels.
