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The United States government seized $344 million worth of USDT stablecoin this week, saying the digital assets are connected to Iranian state entities. The move is part of what Washington describes as an escalation in its financial pressure campaign aimed at securing diplomatic concessions from Iran.
On Friday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the sanctions. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted multiple cryptocurrency wallets believed to have direct connections to Tehran’s government.
“We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country and target all financial lifelines tied to the regime,” Bessent said, describing the initiative as “Economic Fury.”
OFAC said the action is intended to degrade Tehran’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds.
Tether responded on Thursday by freezing two wallet addresses operating on the TRON blockchain. The combined holdings in those addresses totaled $344 million in USDT. The company said it cooperated with U.S. government directives.
According to a government official speaking with CoinDesk, the targeted wallets showed “unmistakable” links to Iranian state operations. The cited evidence included transfers involving Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges and routing patterns tied to Iran’s central banking system.
U.S. intelligence agencies report that Iran has increased its use of digital currencies to work around economic restrictions. The report says Iran has used transaction methods intended to obscure its involvement in international financial transfers.
Treasury officials said they are working with blockchain analysis companies and digital asset platforms to monitor these activities, including efforts by Iran’s central banking authorities to channel resources through cryptocurrency networks rather than conventional financial institutions.
In a related development, Iran allegedly selected Bitcoin rather than stablecoins for collecting tolls at the Strait of Hormuz, with the rationale that Bitcoin is harder for the U.S. to seize than USDT. Washington controls nearly $2 billion in frozen Iranian assets across various channels.
Friday also included sanctions on Hengli Petrochemical, a Chinese refining operation. Officials alleged the company plays a critical role in Iran’s petroleum industry.
Another round of U.S.-Iran diplomatic discussions could take place within days. President Trump plans to send envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan for meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Vice President JD Vance, who took part in earlier negotiations, is not expected to attend this round. Iran’s Parliament Speaker, who previously represented Tehran, is also expected to be absent.
Tehran has said the release of frozen assets is a prerequisite for any agreement. Trump has stated that the American naval blockade at the Strait of Hormuz costs Iran about $500 million daily.
Bitcoin traded around $77,800 on Thursday, slightly below its intraday peak of $78,400. The cryptocurrency has gained more than 3% over the past week.
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