-- The US rolled out sanctions on three Iranian currency exchange houses and a network of associated front companies, accusing them of moving billions of dollars in foreign exchange to support Tehran's oil industry, the Department of the Treasury said on Friday.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanctions form part of "Economic Fury," a broader campaign aimed at dismantling Iran's shadow banking system.
The sanctioned firms, Pedram Pirouzan and Associates Partnership, also known as Opal Exchange; Nasser Ghasemi Rad and Associates Partnership, or Radin Exchange and Tahayyori and Associates Partnership, also known as Arz Iran Exchange, are accused of facilitating billions of dollars in transactions per year.
The Treasury said the entities help convert oil revenues, often received in Chinese yuan, into currencies usable by Iran's military and affiliated groups.
The exchange houses operate alongside so-called "rahbar" networks tied to sanctioned Iranian banks, and work with multiple oil exporters and financial intermediaries, the Treasury said.
The firms allegedly rely on foreign-based front companies and commercial bank accounts to process transactions across jurisdictions, masking links to sanctioned entities, including the Central Bank of Iran and the National Iranian Oil Company.
The individuals linked to the exchanges, including Pedram Pirouzan, Hossein Mohammad Rezaei, Masoud Mohammad Rezaei, Nasser Ghasemi Rad and Ehsan Tahayyori, were also hit with sanctions.
OFAC also sanctioned over a dozen companies, it said, that provided material support to Opal Exchange, including trading firms incorporated in multiple jurisdictions and entities in the UAE.
The Treasury said Iran's shadow banking system handles tens of billions of dollars in trade each year, largely tied to oil and petrochemical exports.
Since February 2025, OFAC has sanctioned over 1,000 Iran-linked individuals, vessels and aircraft as part of that effort.