Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told G20 finance leaders in North Carolina that Washington is likely to announce sanctions on an Iran-linked bank this week, with another round to follow next week. The move extends "Operation Economic Outcast," a campaign now including the EU, UK, UAE, and Bahrain, that has expanded from banks and airlines into digital assets.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told G20 finance leaders gathered in Asheville, North Carolina, that the US is likely to announce sanctions targeting an Iran-linked bank this week, with a further round expected the following week. The announcement extends a campaign the administration calls "Operation Economic Outcast," aimed at cutting the Iranian regime off from the global financial system.
Zero tolerance for IRGC ties
The campaign's primary target is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. According to Crypto Briefing, Bessent described the Treasury's posture toward any entity doing business with the IRGC as "zero tolerance." The operation launched on August 24, 2026 and has already drawn in the EU, UK, UAE, and Bahrain as partners.
Initial enforcement fell on banks and airline leasing companies tied to the IRGC. In late August, branches of UAE's Banque Misr were targeted for allegedly processing over $1.8 billion in transactions linked to Iran.
Gulf allies join the crackdown
The inclusion of the UAE and Bahrain in the coalition carries particular weight. Gulf states have historically maintained complex economic relationships with Iran, shaped by geography and trade flows that predate modern sanctions regimes.
Banque Misr's enforcement action illustrates that dynamic. The scale of the transactions processed suggests even banks in allied nations were serving as conduits for Iranian money.
Digital assets enter the sanctions net
Bessent noted the campaign has expanded beyond traditional financial channels to include aviation, maritime, technology, and digital assets. Iranian entities have been documented using crypto to circumvent sanctions, particularly through stablecoins and decentralized exchanges.
The Treasury's explicit inclusion of digital assets in the sanctions framework suggests upcoming enforcement actions could target specific wallets, protocols, or over-the-counter desks facilitating Iranian transactions.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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