The U.S. Treasury Department expanded the sanctions framework imposed on Iran to include the digital assets sector, in a move it said is based on the use of more than $100 million in cryptocurrency payments to facilitate related oil sales tied to Tehran.
The ministry announced on Monday that the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued sectoral sanctions decisions affecting digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping. The new measures also included around 60 entities, individuals, and a vessel linked to nuclear, missile, cyber, and oil networks.
Under a decision related to digital assets, the OFAC may impose sanctions on foreign individuals and companies that operate in the Iranian crypto currency sector or provide services that support it. The U.S. Treasury Department said that Iran increasingly uses cryptocurrencies as a preferred tool to evade sanctions, including in transactions linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and government officials.
The ministry accused the Ukrainian intermediary based in the UAE, Ivan Obukhov, of processing more than $100 million in cryptocurrency payments since 2023, with the aim of facilitating oil sales on behalf of the Quds Force, affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. It also imposed sanctions on his company registered in the UAE, Foscom FZE.
A broader escalation against Iran-linked encryption networks
This step comes as part of a series of U.S. measures targeting specific crypto platforms and wallets associated with Iran. In January, OFAC imposed sanctions on the UK-registered platforms Zedcex and Zedxion, in the first U.S. listing of its kind involving Iran-linked digital asset exchanges.
On June 3, the Treasury Department targeted four Iranian cryptocurrency platforms, including Nobitex, the country’s largest platform. This came days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States seized nearly $1 billion worth of cryptocurrency from Iranian exchanges and wallets.
In the latest developments, OFAC imposed sanctions on the Shelbit and Aban Tether platforms on August 7, alleging that they facilitated digital assets totaling $5 million in connection with Iran.
The Treasury Department said the new decision differs from previous actions that targeted specific platforms because it essentially provides a broader basis for imposing sanctions on anyone working in Iran’s digital assets sector or providing services that support it. It also clarified that any U.S.-linked assets belonging to the listed parties will be frozen, while foreign banks that facilitate large transactions for them may face restrictions on access to U.S. accounts.
For exchanges and digital asset service providers, these developments mean that any dealings with parties or payment chains linked to Iran or the UAE may be subject to stricter compliance scrutiny, especially when there is a connection to oil payments or entities listed on sanctions lists.