US authorities froze over $130 million, while renewed strikes and a naval blockade intensified regional tensions.
The United States has frozen more than $130 million in crypto assets linked to Iran as hostilities in the Middle East continue to intensify.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took to X to confirm that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned multiple crypto wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran.
Escalating Hostilities
Bessent said the action is part of the Treasury’s broader effort to disrupt and degrade Iran’s illicit financial activities. He added,
“We will continue to aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the proceeds of its illicit revenue schemes.”
In a separate post, blockchain investigator Specter reported that stablecoin issuer Tether froze four TRON wallets holding approximately $131 million in USDT. According to Specter, most of the funds in those wallets were traced to withdrawals from payment service provider DTC Pay and crypto exchange Bitso before being frozen. Specter later said the wallets are linked to OFAC-sanctioned entities, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Bank Markazi Jomhouri Islami Iran).
The enforcement action comes as the situation between the US and Iran has significantly deteriorated following the collapse of their ceasefire. The US military said it has reimposed its naval blockade of Iranian ports after previously enforcing it between April and June. The development came as US forces carried out a fourth consecutive day of strikes on Iranian targets. Meanwhile, Iran’s army said it launched drone attacks on Jordan’s Al-Azraq military base as part of the seventh phase of “Operation Lightning.”
According to a statement carried by the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the operation targeted facilities including locations housing F-18 fighter jets, accommodation buildings, and a large equipment shed. The latest military actions coincided with renewed warnings from Donald Trump, who said in a television interview that the US would target bridges and power plants next week unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table.
Crypto Crackdown on Iran
The latest freeze comes just months after another major crackdown. In April, Tether froze more than $344 million in USDT at the request of US authorities.
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The US Treasury also sanctioned Iran’s largest crypto exchange, Nobitex, along with Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex, as part of the Trump administration’s Economic Fury campaign last month. US officials alleged that the exchanges helped Iran evade sanctions, process transactions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and move funds through digital assets.
Treasury also claimed Nobitex handled more than half of Iran’s crypto inflows in 2025 and helped the Central Bank of Iran access hundreds of millions of dollars in stablecoins.
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