The Tether freeze of $344 million in USDT was linked to a U.S. government effort to disrupt Iran’s financial networks, the Treasury Department confirmed on Friday.
The US Treasury Department said the action forms part of a wider sanctions push targeting digital asset channels allegedly used by Iran to evade restrictions and move funds internationally.
“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,”
Said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The freeze followed Tether’s blacklisting of two blockchain addresses on Tron holding the full $344 million, after U.S. authorities identified links between the wallets and entities connected to Iran’s financial system.
Officials said the wallets showed ties to transactions routed through intermediaries associated with the Central Bank of Iran and local crypto exchanges, highlighting efforts to obscure cross-border payments under sanctions pressure.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is intensifying enforcement against both traditional front companies and crypto-based networks, while also sanctioning China-based refinery Hengli Petrochemical for its alleged role in Iran’s oil economy.
Authorities added that Iran has increasingly turned to complex crypto transaction patterns to mask activity, with the U.S. continuing to coordinate with blockchain analytics firms and exchanges to track illicit financial flows.