Tether has announced that approximately $550 million in USDT linked to Iran’s Central Bank and sanctions-evasion networks was frozen during 2026 through coordinated actions with U.S. and international authorities. The disclosure comes as the U.S. Department of the Treasury intensifies its crackdown on digital assets that support the Iranian regime under Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign targeting financial networks tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
A significant portion of the frozen funds resulted from two major enforcement actions. In April 2026, Tether assisted in freezing more than $344 million in USDT held across two addresses after receiving information from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and U.S. law enforcement. Those addresses were subsequently added by OFAC as digital currency identifiers associated with the Central Bank of Iran. In July, an additional $130 million in USDT across four wallets was frozen after Treasury expanded a sanctions designation to include four additional TRON addresses.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized that public blockchains give authorities visibility into fund movements that cash does not, enabling action when credible information is supplied. He stated, “As governments intensify efforts to disrupt sanctions evasion and terrorist financing, we remain in regular and direct coordination with authorities in the United States and around the world to help ensure that illicit funds can be identified and frozen.”
Beyond Iran-related cases, Tether reported working with more than 340 law enforcement agencies across 67 countries, supporting over 2,800 investigations globally, including more than 1,500 involving U.S. authorities. These efforts have led to over $4.9 billion in frozen assets, with more than $2.4 billion connected to U.S. agencies. Tether also highlighted its long-standing cooperation with Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing, including the freezing of 32 addresses in 2023 and 39 IRGC-linked addresses in 2025 that held approximately $1.5 million in USDT.
Operation Economic Outcast was revealed in late August by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who described it as an “Economic D-Day.” Treasury has mapped networks, facilitators, and financial channels used by Iran to smuggle oil, evade sanctions, and fund terror, including crypto networks. On September 17, OFAC designated BitBank and its developer, Pishtaz Simorgh Electronic Trade Company, along with three associates, for flouting sanctions using digital assets. Treasury stated it will continue to target not only the Iranian digital asset ecosystem but also international entities that help facilitate it.
