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U.S. Links $344 Million Tether Freeze to Iran in Sanctions Push

The move shows how stablecoins can be switched off by issuers to enforce U.S. sanctions in real time.

Overview

  • Tether, which froze two Tron wallets on Thursday, said it acted at the request of U.S. authorities and blocked further transfers.
  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday the funds were tied to Iran and that multiple wallets were sanctioned in a campaign to cut the regime’s funding channels.
  • PeckShield identified the frozen Tron addresses holding about $213 million and $131 million in USDT, matching Tether’s total of roughly $344 million.
  • Tether used its contract-level controls to blacklist the wallets, leaving balances visible on Tron but unable to be sent or received.
  • Chainalysis and other firms reported patterns consistent with IRGC-linked flows, while the action renewed debate over issuer freeze powers as Tether touted past cooperation that it says helped freeze more than $4.4 billion.