Overview
- On Friday, August 28, the U.S. Treasury’s FinCEN proposed a section 311 rule that would bar U.S. banks from providing correspondent dollar services to Banque Misr’s UAE branches and the Treasury announced OFAC sanctions on a Bank Melli Dubai manager and a Hong Kong firm.
- Treasury officials estimate Banque Misr UAE handled roughly $1.8 billion for about 103 companies tied to alleged Iranian shadow‑banking networks between January 2024 and June 2026 and called the branches a "critical node" for Iran’s dollar access.
- Egypt’s central bank said the U.S. measure applies only to Banque Misr’s UAE operations and that the Cairo headquarters and other foreign branches can continue dollar transactions, while final legal steps depend on the 30‑day public comment period.
- Tehran denounced the actions as 'state terrorism,' Iran’s supreme leader urged mobilization, de‑dollarisation and greater domestic production, and Iranian officials warned other states not to implement the sanctions.
- The move marks a shift from warnings to targeted regulatory and sanction tools but raises open questions about third‑country compliance, possible diplomatic fallout with regional and trading partners, and whether cutting dollar channels will significantly constrain Iran’s war financing.