US Freezes $344 Million in USDT, Citing Iranian Regime's 'Financial Lifelines'

In its latest move to disrupt Iran's financial networks, the US Treasury Department has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency. This action is part of a broader initiative, dubbed 'Economic Fury', which seeks to target and disrupt all financial channels supporting the Iranian regime. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the department will track and target all financial transactions that Tehran attempts to move outside of the country. The freeze is a result of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioning multiple crypto wallets linked to Iran. This move follows Tether's decision to blacklist two blockchain addresses on Tron, holding a combined total of $344 million in USDT. According to a US official, the sanctioned wallets have been linked to the Iranian regime through transactions with Iranian exchanges and connections to wallets associated with the Central Bank of Iran. The Iranian government has been increasingly using digital assets to conceal cross-border transactions and circumvent sanctions. The US authorities are working to counter this by taking aggressive action against both traditional front companies and the use of digital assets. Additionally, the US has sanctioned Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., a China-based refinery, for its significant role in Iran's oil economy. The Treasury Department continues to collaborate with blockchain analytics firms and financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, to track and disrupt illicit financial flows linked to sanctioned entities.