US targets Iran’s crypto sector, cites over $100M in oil-linked payments

The US Treasury has expanded its Iran sanctions framework to cover the country’s digital asset sector, citing more than $100 million in crypto payments allegedly used to facilitate Iranian oil sales. 

On Monday, the Treasury said the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued sectoral sanctions determinations covering digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. The agency also sanctioned nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels across nuclear, missile, cyber and oil networks.

The digital asset determination allows OFAC to sanction foreign individuals and companies that operate in or provide services supporting Iran’s digital asset sector. The Treasury said Iran increasingly uses crypto as a “tool of choice for sanctions evasion,” including for transactions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and government insiders. 

It alleged that UAE-based Ukrainian broker Ivan Obukhov processed over $100 million in crypto payments since 2023 to facilitate oil sales on behalf of the IRGC’s Quds Force. OFAC sanctioned Obukhov and his UAE-based company, Foscom FZE.

US widens crypto enforcement against Iran 

The sector-wide measure follows a series of US actions against named crypto exchanges and wallets linked to Iran. In January, OFAC sanctioned UK-registered Zedcex and Zedxion, marking its first Iran-related designations of digital asset exchanges.