The U.S. Treasury Department says that since launching Operation Economic Fury in 2025, the U.S. has frozen or seized a total of approximately $1 billion in crypto assets linked to Iran.
Iran has used cryptocurrencies, particularly USDT on the TRON network, to circumvent sanctions, receive payments for oil exports, transfer money internationally, and support activities related to the Iranian government and military.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. has been working with Tether and blockchain analytics firms to identify wallets linked to sanctioned entities. Once identified, these wallets could be frozen, preventing their owners from moving the assets inside.
Mr. Bessent said that some wallet owners may not even realize that their wallets have been frozen and are no longer able to transfer money, while still receiving payments to those addresses.