US Treasury Sanctions Crypto Exchanges Over Alleged Iran and IRGC Links

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on two cryptocurrency exchanges accused of helping Iran move funds outside the traditional banking system, escalating Washington’s crackdown on crypto networks allegedly connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Shelbit Exchange and Iran-based Aban Tether, along with Siavash Kayvanpour and several companies linked to him in Georgia, Poland and the United Arab Emirates. Despite its name, Aban Tether does not appear to have a connection to Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin.

According to the Treasury, wallets linked to the IRGC transferred more than $1 million in cryptocurrency to Shelbit addresses, while over $2 million moved from Shelbit addresses to IRGC-controlled wallets. Wallets associated with Kayvanpour also allegedly transferred more than $2 million to Nobitex, Iran’s largest crypto exchange.

OFAC said Aban Tether processed millions of dollars in transactions involving sanctioned Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges, including Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex.

In a separate action, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned a network of foreign exchange businesses, shell companies and individuals accused of supporting Iran’s shadow banking system. Authorities said the network helped move hundreds of millions of dollars, including proceeds linked to Iranian oil sales.

The latest U.S. sanctions come amid heightened efforts to restrict Iran’s access to foreign currencies and international financial markets. While cryptocurrency can provide alternative payment channels for entities cut off from conventional banks, blockchain transactions can also create transparent records that investigators can trace.

Washington has increasingly targeted Iran-linked crypto activity in 2026. The Treasury sanctioned Zedcex and Zedxion in January before blacklisting Nobitex and other Iranian exchanges in June. In July, the U.S. sanctioned four crypto wallets tied to Iran’s central bank, prompting Tether to freeze approximately $131 million in USDT.

The expanding sanctions campaign increases compliance pressure on cryptocurrency exchanges and stablecoin issuers to detect Iran-linked transactions, screen sanctioned wallets and prevent digital assets from being used to bypass U.S. financial restrictions.