U.S. Freezes $344M in Tether Linked to Iran

The U.S. Treasury froze $344 million in two Tether wallets on Thursday, identifying links to Iranian crypto platforms and addresses associated with the Central Bank of Iran, officials and blockchain analysts said.

Tether said it “helped the U.S. government freeze $344 million held across two crypto addresses” after multiple U.S. agencies provided information about activity they viewed as illegal.

The Treasury and blockchain tracing firms followed transactions that moved through exchanges and private wallet layers before reaching addresses tied to Iran’s central bank. Tracing showed transfers consistent with cross-border payments used to support trade and efforts to stabilize the rial under international restrictions.

Chainalysis estimates Iran’s crypto holdings reached $7.8 billion in 2025 and reported faster growth for most of that year compared with 2024. The firm said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps controlled roughly half of Iran’s blockchain assets in the final quarter of 2025 and that the two frozen addresses displayed patterns of large, repeated transfers to private wallets similar to known IRGC-linked accounts.

U.S. authorities are sanctioning several wallets tied to Iran and described the coordinated freeze as part of broader efforts to trace and block Iran-linked financial flows. The Treasury said it keeps regular contact with U.S. and foreign banks and digital asset exchanges as part of sanctions enforcement. The Iranian mission to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment.

The ability to freeze USDT sets the stablecoin apart from many tokens because traders use it to move dollar value across crypto markets. The Treasury noted the frozen addresses had been active years earlier and at times sent tens of millions of dollars to private wallets before funds moved toward state-linked accounts.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote on X that talks about U.S. dollar swap lines with partners in the Persian Gulf and Asia “are part of regular talks the Treasury Department has had with partner countries for years” and described potential swap arrangements as evidence of the dollar’s central role and “the strength of America’s economic shield.”

U.S. enforcement actions target both digital-asset rails and traditional financial channels to disrupt revenue streams tied to sanctioned actors. Officials declined to say whether the freeze will force Iran to change its military plans or negotiating stance.