Senate Democrats Call Tether USDT a Lifeline for Iran
A Sept. 28 report estimated $2 billion in Iranian government transactions in 2025 and cited nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT freezes this year.
Senate Democrats alleged Sept. 28 that Tether’s USDT has become a major financial channel for Iran’s sanctions-evasion network, putting stablecoin compliance under renewed scrutiny in the United States.
Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said Iran uses cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets and other intermediaries in a broader shadow-banking system. The report estimated that the Iranian government conducted about $2 billion in transactions in 2025, but did not specify how much involved USDT.
“USDT has become a significant financial lifeline within Iran’s shadow banking network,” the report said. It also alleged that Tether repeatedly failed to block Iran-linked wallets and sometimes took weeks to freeze them after receiving requests.
Tether said it supported freezes of nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USDT during 2026. The company separately announced in April that it helped freeze more than $344 million across two addresses after receiving information from U.S. authorities.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company remains in direct coordination with authorities as governments target sanctions evasion and terrorist financing. The Senate report also alleged that terrorist organizations, including Hamas, shifted toward USDT after previously using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
