NEW YORK (VINnews) — The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on Tuesday a series of severe sanctions against Nobitex, Iran’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, as well as against its senior executives and the oligarchs said to be behind it.

The American move follows directly from a Reuters investigation published in May 2026 and comes amid U.S. military operations and fighting on Iranian territory. According to the article, the objective is to cut off Tehran’s secret financial channels.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accompanied the sanctions announcement with a strongly worded statement describing how the Iranian government allegedly uses blockchain technology to sustain itself: “While Iran’s economy is in free fall, the regime has chosen to embrace digital-asset technologies for its corrupt agenda, including sanctions evasion and the transfer of wealth out of the country.”

The statement continued: “Nobitex provided significant support to the Iranian government and facilitated a significant number of digital transactions linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Central Bank of Iran.”

The Treasury also alleged that after the beginning of U.S. military operations in Iran, Nobitex helped protect and transfer assets and funds outside Iran in order to shield regime wealth despite nationwide internet shutdowns.

The Reuters investigation reportedly caused a major stir by identifying the exchange’s true owners and linking them directly to influential political and religious elites in Tehran. According to the report, the company is controlled by two brothers from the Kharazi family, described as one of the most influential dynasties in the Islamic Republic and closely connected to Iran’s supreme leadership.

The investigation alleged that company records revealed an intentional effort to obscure ownership: “Corporate records show that when the exchange began operations, the brothers registered under a surname used by only a small number of family members.”

Based on these findings, the U.S. government announced not only sanctions against the exchange itself but also personal sanctions against its leadership. According to the Treasury: “The two brothers, Seyed Mohammad Ali Aghamir Mohammad Ali and Seyed Mohammad Aghamir Mohammad Ali, were added to the sanctions list individually, along with the exchange’s CEO, Amir Hossein Rad.”

In an email sent to Reuters in April, company representatives rejected the allegations and denied any improper relationship with the Iranian government.They stated: “We have no direct governmental ties and deny providing assistance to the state.” The company added: “Any illicit funds that passed through Nobitex did so without the approval or knowledge of management.” It also denied allegations concerning the owners’ identities, claiming that “The two brothers never used alternative identities or changed their identities.”

The sanctions against Nobitex are part of a broader economic and technological front running parallel to the physical conflict involving Iran. Since U.S. military operations began in Iran, the country has faced severe economic and maritime pressure, resulting in a sharp decline in the value of its currency and significant economic distress. In this context, cryptocurrency has allegedly become a crucial strategic tool for both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Reuters investigation alleged that the Iranian government provided Nobitex with special treatment. While authorities reportedly shut down internet access nationwide during periods of unrest or military strikes, Nobitex allegedly retained exceptional access that allowed it to continue processing cryptocurrency transactions worth millions of dollars.

The U.S. action represents a targeted effort to block what it describes as the regime’s “digital escape route.” By sanctioning the exchange and the alleged oligarchs behind it, the United States seeks to prevent Nobitex from working with international trading platforms and liquidity providers. This could hinder the ability of the Revolutionary Guards to launder money, purchase military equipment abroad, move state assets overseas, or transfer the personal wealth of senior officials to foreign tax havens.