U.S. and Tether Freeze $344M in Iran-Linked USDT as Treasury Steps Up Crypto Sanctions

The U.S. Treasury moved to freeze $344 million in cryptocurrency it says was tied to Iranian entities, sanctioning multiple wallets officials described as connected to Tehran’s financial networks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took the action to “systematically degrade Tehran’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds,” and officials pointed to transaction patterns involving Iranian exchanges and intermediaries ^{[1] [2]}.

Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, said it froze more than $340 million in USDT at the direct request of U.S. law enforcement and in coordination with OFAC. Reporting also noted that Tether blacklisted two TRON-network addresses following the Treasury sanctions ^{[3] [4]}.

Observers described the action as part of a broader U.S. economic pressure campaign to limit Iran’s use of cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions; one report estimated total frozen Iranian crypto assets now approach roughly $2 billion ^[4].

U.S. officials framed the freeze and related blacklisting by stablecoin providers as tools to disrupt Tehran’s ability to access and repatriate funds through digital tokens ^[1].