US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the US government has seized $344 million in cryptocurrency assets tied to Iran. In a statement on X, Bessent said the Treasury Department 'will continue to systematically degrade Tehran's ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds.' He added that sanctions were imposed on 'multiple wallets tied to Iran,' resulting in the freeze of funds.
According to an AFP report, this move comes as Washington seeks to raise pressure on Tehran amid energy supply disruptions due to the war in the Middle East. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington is targeting both typical sanctions evasion methods like front companies and newer technologies such as digital assets. The official added that the Treasury is in active dialogue with financial institutions, including digital assets exchanges.
Iran's IRGC Threatens Undersea Internet Cables
Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) issued a warning, suggesting undersea data cables running through the Strait of Hormuz are highly vulnerable to accidental or deliberate action. The report cautioned that 'simultaneous damage to several major cables' may trigger outages across the Persian Gulf.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important oil chokepoints and a vital digital artery due to a dense web of fiber-optic cables beneath its waters, serving as the backbone for global communication. If these cables snap, the impact would be felt far beyond the Middle East. These lines carry an estimated 17% to 30% of regional internet traffic, connecting Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Moreover, these cables power massive AI infrastructure hubs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, backed by tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.
These cables are also central to global financial transactions and cloud services, as well as daily emails and video calls, relying on this underwater network.
