US Freezes $344 Million in Tether's USDT, Citing Iran Sanctions

In its latest move to disrupt Iran's financial networks, the US Treasury Department has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency, according to an announcement made on Friday. This action is part of a broader initiative, dubbed 'Economic Fury,' aimed at stifling the Iranian regime's access to financial resources. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on several crypto wallets linked to Iran, resulting in the freeze of $344 million in cryptocurrency. Bessent emphasized the US's commitment to tracking and targeting all financial channels supporting the Iranian regime. The sanctions follow Tether's decision to blacklist two blockchain addresses on the Tron network, which held a combined total of $344 million in USDT. A US official revealed that the sanctioned wallets had significant connections to the Iranian regime, including transactions with Iranian exchanges and links to wallets associated with the Central Bank of Iran. The Iranian government has been increasingly relying on digital assets to conceal cross-border transactions, prompting the US to escalate its efforts to counter these activities. The Treasury Department's OFAC is working to increase pressure on the Iranian regime by targeting both traditional front companies and the use of digital assets. In a related move, the US sanctioned Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., a China-based refinery accused of playing a major role in Iran's oil economy. The US agency is collaborating with blockchain analytics firms and financial institutions, including crypto exchanges, to track and disrupt illicit financial flows tied to sanctioned entities.