By Pishtaz | 2026-06-18

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) dramatically expanded its maximum pressure campaign against the destabilizing Islamic Republic.

On June 2, the Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Nobitex, Iran's largest digital asset exchange, alongside three other major crypto platforms.

These enforcement actions fall under the broad "Operation Economic Fury", targeting illicit financial flows and dangerous digital sanctions evasion networks.

US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent asserted this critical campaign follows the money "to prevent the regime from developing a devastating nuclear weapon."

This powerful crackdown involves four major exchanges, Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin, and Ramzinex. All designated for shielding substantial regime wealth and bypassing international controls.

Nobitex alone processed an estimated fifty percent of all Iranian digital asset inflows throughout the previous year, 2025.

The exchange also disrupted the Iranian economy by facilitating the Central Bank's access to stablecoins to prop up the plummeting value of the rial.

Furthermore, Nobitex processed sensitive transactions linked directly to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and state-affiliated ransomware activities.

Experts say digital asset platforms have been used to circumvent sanctions on IRGC and as a financial safe haven for civilians hit by soaring inflation.

The sanctions extend beyond the digital entities, targeting key leadership figures with direct ties to the Islamic regime's powerful inner circle.

This included Nobitex co-founder and chairman Amir Hossein Rad and CEO Seyed Ali Khoee, who were both personally designated by OFAC.

The comprehensive "Economic Fury" mandate aims to disrupt the Islamic Republic regime’s global shadow banking, illicit oil trade, and dangerous maritime extortion attempts.

All US-based assets of these designated entities are immediately frozen to sever their critical access to the global financial system.

Non-US entities or foreign financial institutions risk severe penalties, including secondary sanctions, for engaging with the designated individuals.