U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a new financial offensive against Iran on Monday, with a specific focus on the country's utilization of digital assets.
Titled “Operation Economic Outcast,” the initiative is designed to restrict the Iranian government's financial capabilities as the current administration's military campaign approaches the end of its sixth month. According to Bessent, the sanctions are intended to sever economic lifelines to Tehran.
The Treasury chief stated that any entity facilitating money laundering on behalf of Iran will face removal from the U.S. dollar system. The sectoral sanctions target five primary lifelines: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping.
These measures expand secondary sanctions risks for parties conducting business with the regime. Concurrently, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning more than 60 entities, individuals, and vessels globally that assist the regime in procuring illicit nuclear and missile technology, conducting cyber operations, and generating oil revenue.
Previously in June, OFAC sanctioned Nobitex, which is Iran's largest crypto exchange, alongside three other Iranian trading platforms. At the time, the Treasury Department stated that Nobitex handled over 50% of all Iranian digital asset inflows in 2025, facilitating payments connected to sanctions evasion, terrorist activities, and transactions associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
