Well, here we go again. The U.S. Treasury Department has just rolled out another set of sanctions, this time targeting a couple of Iranian financiers and a handful of individuals and firms over in Hong Kong and the UAE. The reason? They’re accused of moving around $100 million in cryptocurrency to help Iran sell its oil.
It’s part of a pattern, really. Just a day before this announcement, Israeli authorities pointed to a huge sum—around $1.5 billion in Tether—that they say is tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. That group, by the way, is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S.
Who Was Sanctioned and How It Worked
The two men named are Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand. According to the Treasury, they were key players in buying up massive amounts of crypto to pay for Iranian oil. To get around existing sanctions, they used what officials are calling a “shadow banking” network spread across Hong Kong and UAE companies.
It’s not exactly a new trick. But the scale here is pretty significant. This kind of funding doesn’t just fill government coffers—it likely ends up supporting military projects and regional militant groups, according to U.S. officials. Things like drone programs or ballistic missiles. Not great for stability in the region, to put it mildly.
A Growing Pattern of Crypto Sanctions Evasion
This actually isn’t the first time crypto has been at the center of Iran-related sanctions. In fact, the move was made under an executive order from the previous administration—the one often referred to as the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.
And it makes sense. With traditional banking cut off, Iran has been leaning into crypto more and more. It’s not just the U.S. taking notice. A few weeks back, several European countries reinstated U.N. sanctions hoping to pressure Iran over nuclear site inspections.
The Role of Exchanges and Stolen Funds
Analytics firms like Elliptic have been tracking these flows for a while. They’ve linked Iranian crypto exchange Nobitex to the Revolutionary Guards, calling it part of a “sanctions evasion apparatus.” Ironically, that same exchange was hacked back in June by pro-Israeli groups who made off with something like $90 million.
And the U.S. is getting more proactive—just last week, authorities froze over half a million dollars in Tether connected to Iran’s drone manufacturing. Previous actions have targeted addresses that received hundreds of millions in crypto tied to the same military branch.
It feels like a digital cat-and-mouse game. As sanctions tighten, the methods get more creative. And honestly, it’s unclear which side is gaining ground.
