WASHINGTON-Today, as part of Economic Fury, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 35 entities and individuals that oversee Iran’s shadow banking architecture, facilitating the movement of the equivalent of tens of billions of dollars tied to sanctions evasion and Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism. These networks allow Iran’s armed forces-including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-to access the international financial system to receive payment for illicit oil sales, purchase sensitive components for missiles and other weapons systems, and transfer money to Iran’s terrorist proxies.
“Iran’s shadow banking system serves as a critical financial lifeline for its armed forces, enabling activities that disrupt global trade and fuel violence across the Middle East,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Illicit funds funneled through this network support the regime’s ongoing terrorist operations, posing a direct threat to U.S. personnel, regional allies, and the global economy. Financial institutions are on notice: Any institution that facilitates or engages with these networks is at risk of severe consequences.”
Today’s action is being taken pursuant to E.O. 13902, which targets persons operating in Iran’s financial sector, and E.O. 13224, as amended, a counterterrorism authority. These designations build on OFAC’s January 15, 2026 shadow banking action, which targeted the rahbar networks of Bank Melli and Bank-e Shahr (Shahr Bank).
Today’s designations expose and disrupt the Iranian regime’s mechanisms for receiving payments for oil and other commodities, thereby increasing costs and reducing revenue for the regime’s destabilizing activities, and exposes individuals involved in facilitating the regime’s abuse of the international financial system.
This action is in furtherance of the President’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 (NSPM-2), which undergirds Treasury’s continued campaign of maximum economic pressure against Iran’s shadow banking, money laundering, and sanctions evasion networks. Since February 2025, OFAC has sanctioned approximately 1,000 Iran-related persons, vessels, and aircraft as part of this campaign.