US Targets Iran's Crypto Sector with Operation Economic Outcast

The US Treasury Department has launched Operation Economic Outcast to target Iran's international financial links, including cryptocurrency activity that American officials say supports sanctions evasion and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Operation Economic Outcast covers various sectors such as cryptocurrency, technology, gold, aviation, shipping, and more. The Treasury plans to pursue people, companies, and intermediaries that help Iran sell oil, move money, avoid existing restrictions, or finance groups designated by the US.

The department says Iran uses digital assets to support transactions linked to the IRGC and government insiders. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) can sanction individuals operating in Iran's crypto sector, regardless of their location.

American officials have mapped facilitators, financial channels, and other networks used by Tehran. They presented Iran with two possible outcomes: continued isolation or a route back into the international economy. Reintegration would require the Iranian government to change its conduct that Washington regards as a threat to the US and its partners.