In a broad economic pressure campaign against Tehran, the United States has seized cryptocurrency assets from Iran valued at almost $500 million, according to the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s statement on Wednesday.
While appearing on Fox Business’s “Kudlow,” Bessent detailed the scope of President Trump’s March 2025 campaign known as Operation Economic Fury, which aimed to isolate Iran’s financial system through the seizure of assets, freezing of bank accounts, and imposition of secondary sanctions on nations that continued to buy oil from Iran.
Crackdown on Iran’s Economy
The $500 million figure is much more than the previously disclosed $344 million worth of seized cryptocurrencies. Last week, Bessent revealed that many Iranian cryptocurrency wallets have been sanctioned by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. Additionally, stablecoin issuer Tether reported freezing more than $344 million in USDT at the request of US authorities.
Has Iran’s economy suffered as a result of Operation Economic Fury? That is what Bessent claims. Its currency’s value vs the US dollar dropped by 60-70% when a major bank in the country collapsed in December. According to him, they were going through a financial crisis.
The pressure has been increased as the Treasury has intensified penalties on many fronts. On Tuesday, OFAC sanctioned 35 individuals and companies with ties to Iran’s shadow banking system. Separately, it struck a Chinese oil refinery and around 40 shipping businesses; these individuals are part of Iran’s shadow fleet, which avoids sanctions by smuggling Iranian petroleum to nations like China.
Because of their involvement in the acquisition of materials used by the Iranian ballistic missile program and the Shahed-series of attack drones, fourteen individuals and entities were sanctioned. Since February 2025, under Operation Economic Fury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned over a thousand persons, ships, and aircraft associated with Iran.