US Treasury announces sanctions targeting Iranian 'shadow banking' networks

The US Treasury Department on Friday announced a new round of sanctions targeting key components of what it called Iran’s shadow banking system.

The department said in a statement that Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated three Iranian foreign currency exchange houses and their associated front companies.

Iranian exchange houses facilitate billions of dollars in foreign currency transactions each year, the agency claimed.

“Iran is the head of the snake for global terrorism, and under President (Donald) Trump’s leadership, Treasury is moving aggressively, through Economic Fury, to sever the Iranian military’s financial lifelines,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement, echoing the name of Operation Epic Fury, the war that Trump and Israel launched on Feb. 28 against Iran, which is currently under a ceasefire to allow efforts to reach a negotiated settlement.

“We will relentlessly target the regime’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds, and pursue anyone enabling Tehran’s attempts to evade sanctions,” Bessent added.