The United States has added four crypto wallets linked to the Central Bank of Iran to its sanctions list after the breakdown of a ceasefire agreement between the two countries and the resumption of air and drone strikes.
The four Tron-blockchain wallets received over $165 million in stablecoins, according to Chainalysis. Tether blocked $131 million in USDT held in accounts, although some of the funds were moved before the freeze.
By sanctioning wallets, exchanges, custodians and compliance companies have a clear set of addresses to search. Iran’s central bank has accumulated at least $507 million in USDT, according to Elliptic, using the token to prop up the rial.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said its published wallet lists are not exhaustive, meaning other addresses controlled by the bank may still be considered escrow assets.
OFAC’s update Tuesday expands an existing designation rather than imposing new sanctions. The Central Bank of Iran has been stuck under U.S. counterterrorism authorization since 2019 due to its support of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force and Hezbollah.
