Speaking at the Reagan National Economic Forum, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that the US seized nearly $1 billion in Iranian-linked cryptocurrency as part of a broader campaign to choke Internet money in Tehran.
The revelations come amid the most intense military conflict in the Middle East in years.
On February 27, 2026, the US and Israel he started Operation Epic Fury – a coordinated campaign against Iran’s nuclear facilities, military facilities, and Revolutionary Guard headquarters.
Iran retaliated with missile strikes across the region, hitting Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Iraq. A fragile ceasefire began in early April and is still in place, but the economic war has not stopped.
Enter Operation Economic Fury. Ordered by President Trump and carried out by the Treasury Department, the campaign is designed to systematically eliminate any economic opportunity Tehran has left.
Since its inception, OFAC has been to be allowed on 1,000 Iran-linked organizations, five bank accounts held by Revolutionary Guard-affiliated businesses, and – according to Bessent – arrived directly in crypto wallets.
The biggest event came at the end of April, when Tether confirmed he was dry $344 million in USDT across two Tron blockchain addresses linked to the IRGC, after blockchain analytics group Chainalysis identified chains linked to known Iranian military wallets. One bag had about $213 million; another, $131 million.
The total number of victims has risen to $ 500 million – and Bessent’s latest comments indicate that the total amount is approaching $ 1 billion.
“We will follow the money that Tehran is trying to transfer to another country and follow all the economic methods that are related to the government,” Bessent. he said.
Bitcoin as a payment method in Iran
In April, Iran he says arranged for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz to pay in Bitcoin during the temporary suspension by the US.
The plan aims to bypass sanctions and bank rails, giving Iran a way to raise money while managing the world’s biggest oil crisis.
The move pushed bitcoin into the political spotlight, raised business and legal risks for remittance businesses and showed how the digital economy could use self-regulated trading methods.
