U.S. Sanctions Iran's Crypto Money Network

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States sanctioned eight digital asset service providers that help the Iranian regime evade sanctions and fund terrorism, the State Department announced on November 6.

Read the State Department press statement: https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/11/u-s-sanctions-cripple-financial-networks-sustaining-the-iranian-regime/

Eight Firms, The Rial Exchanges, The Terror Link

The Department of the Treasury is designating eight firms that exchange Iranian rials and other currencies for digital assets so that the regime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and other sanctioned actors can move money into and out of Iran, the statement said.

Several of the businesses sent funds to digital asset accounts linked to the IRGC and other terrorist activity, the statement said. Many also dealt with Iranian cryptocurrency exchanges that the United States has already sanctioned.

Some of the firms changed their names and addresses to avoid detection, and all of them kept operating despite public reporting on the risks they posed, the statement said.

The statement did not name the eight firms.

Operation Economic Outcast, The Canada Coordination, The Drug Money

The action is part of Operation Economic Outcast, the administration's campaign to cut off revenue the Iranian regime uses to fund terrorism, weapons proliferation, and its proxies across the Middle East, the statement said.

Today's action follows U.S. sanctions earlier this year on Iranian digital asset exchanges that moved money for the regime and the IRGC, the statement said.

The United States coordinated the action closely with Canada, including Canada's financial intelligence unit, FINTRAC, the statement said.

Several of the designated businesses also laundered proceeds from drug trafficking, the statement said, showing how the same illicit networks serve both Iran and criminal organizations.

The Executive Order, The Warning, The Next Steps

The designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 13902, which targets the Iranian digital asset sector, among other key sectors of the Iranian economy, the statement said.

"Anyone, anywhere in the world, who helps Tehran evade sanctions risks being held accountable," the statement said.

The United States will continue to cut off revenue the regime uses to fund terrorism and will keep working with Canada and other international partners to expose these networks and shut them down, the statement said.

Sources

U.S. Department of State, Office of the Spokesman, "U.S. Sanctions Cripple Financial Networks Sustaining the Iranian Regime," November 6, 2026: https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesman/2026/11/u-s-sanctions-cripple-financial-networks-sustaining-the-iranian-regime/