The U.S. Treasury Department expanded its sanctions framework against Iran on Monday to include the country’s digital asset sector, citing more than $100 million in cryptocurrency payments allegedly used to facilitate Iranian oil sales.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued sectoral sanctions determinations covering digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. Nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels were sanctioned across nuclear, missile, cyber and oil networks. The digital asset determination enables OFAC to target foreign individuals and companies operating in or providing services supporting Iran’s digital asset industry.
The Treasury alleged that Iran increasingly relies on cryptocurrency as a “tool of choice for sanctions evasion,” including transactions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and government insiders. It claimed that UAE-based Ukrainian broker Ivan Obukhov processed over $100 million in crypto payments since 2023 to facilitate oil sales on behalf of the IRGC’s Quds Force. Obukhov and his UAE-based company, Foscom FZE, were sanctioned.
The move follows a series of U.S. actions targeting specific crypto exchanges and wallets tied to Iran. In January, OFAC sanctioned UK-registered Zedcex and Zedxion, marking its first Iran-related designations of digital asset exchanges. On June 3, the Treasury sanctioned four Iranian crypto exchanges, including the country’s largest platform, Nobitex. The action came days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. had seized nearly $1 billion in cryptocurrency from Iranian exchanges and wallets.
Most recently, on August 7, OFAC sanctioned exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether, alleging they facilitated a combined $5 million in digital assets connected to Iran. Unlike prior actions targeting individual platforms, the latest determination establishes a basis for sanctions based on participation in Iran’s broader digital asset sector.
The accompanying OFAC determination states that any person determined to operate in Iran’s digital asset sector will be subject to sanctions under Executive Order 13902. Designated parties’ U.S.-linked property must be blocked, and foreign banks facilitating significant transactions for them could face restrictions on access to U.S. accounts.
