USDT Under Fire: Tether Scrutinized Over Iran Links

Tether has come under scrutiny after a Senate investigation found that USDT is being used extensively in Iran's shadow banking network. The report, titled 'Tethered to Terrorism,' analyzed over five years of blockchain records and reviewed 846 wallets linked to Iran and other regional proxy groups by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The report found that 84% of these wallets transacted almost exclusively in USDT, with 87% conducting 80% of their transaction value in this stablecoin. Two sanctioned Iranian nationals received $603 million in USDT between 2021 and 2025 from addresses later sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Tether disputed the report's findings, stating that it helped freeze $550 million in assets linked to Iran and that USDT is not a safe haven for sanctioned actors or terrorist organizations. However, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal called on the Justice Department and the United States Treasury to investigate Tether's AML and sanctions compliance.