The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned the crypto exchanges Shelbit and Aban Tether, stating they assisted Iran in moving money outside the traditional banking system:
This action expands a 2026 crackdown that has targeted Nobitex, other Iranian exchanges, and crypto wallets linked to Iran's central bank:
The sanctions come amid the U.S.-Iran war, raising the stakes for stablecoin issuers and exchanges handling funds connected with Iranian entities:
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted Shelbit and Aban Tether, along with Siavash Kayvanpour and several companies tied to him:
IRGC-linked wallets sent over $1 million in crypto to Shelbit addresses, while more than $2 million flowed from Shelbit addresses to IRGC wallets:
This latest action is part of an ongoing series of U.S. sanctions against Iran's crypto finance network:
