The US Treasury says it has frozen more than $130 million in cryptocurrency linked to Iran’s central bank as part of a wider sanctions action targeting an oil-shipping network tied to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disclosed the move on July 14 in a post on X, presenting it as part of a broader campaign against what he described as Iran’s use of digital assets.
Crypto wallets tied to Iran’s central bank
According to the Treasury action, the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned multiple cryptocurrency wallets connected to the Central Bank of Iran. The department said the freeze covered more than $130 million in digital assets.
Bessent said the measure formed part of Washington’s effort to curb Iran’s use of crypto. The announcement did not stand alone, but came alongside a larger package of sanctions issued by OFAC.
Broader sanctions package
The crypto-related designations were included in an action naming more than 50 individuals, entities, and vessels. Treasury linked those targets to a network operated by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, which it described as a major channel behind Iran’s oil exports.
Bessent characterized the Shamkhani network as one of the Iranian regime’s most profitable engines and said it was built on “deception.” Treasury also said it has sanctioned more than 200 people and entities under the network’s patronage.
The measures were issued under Executive Order 13902, which is aimed at Iran’s core economic sectors.
Follow-up to earlier crypto enforcement
The latest freeze follows another significant crypto enforcement action earlier this year. In April, stablecoin issuer Tether assisted the US government in blocking $344 million held across two wallets.
A US official connected that earlier freeze to Iranian state actors. The new Treasury move adds to signs that US authorities are increasingly targeting digital asset infrastructure when it is alleged to be linked to sanctioned activity.
What the action signals
The announcement combines crypto enforcement with a broader sanctions strategy focused on oil revenue and the networks that help move it. In this case, Treasury tied the wallet sanctions to the Central Bank of Iran while also embedding them in a wider action against individuals, companies, and vessels associated with Shamkhani’s shipping and export network.
The department has framed both the crypto freeze and the wider designations as part of efforts to pressure the economic structures that support Iran’s state activity, while relying on existing sanctions authority under Executive Order 13902.
Source: beincrypto.com