US imposes sanctions on three Iranian currency exchanges accusing them of laundering billions

The US Treasury Department imposed sweeping sanctions Friday on three major Iranian currency exchange houses and more than a dozen front companies, The Post has learned, accusing them of laundering billions of dollars in foreign currency to bankroll Tehran’s military and proxy network.This crackdown, a cornerstone of the Trump administration’s “Economic Fury” maximum-pressure campaign, targets the shadow banking systems that help Iran convert illicit oil revenue. Because these revenues are largely paid in Chinese yuan, these networks are vital for converting funds into US dollars, euros, and other usable currencies for the regime.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated the designations strike directly at the financial arteries keeping Iran’s war machine alive.“Iran is the head of the snake for global terrorism, and under President Trump’s leadership, Treasury is moving aggressively, through Economic Fury, to sever the Iranian military’s financial lifelines,” Bessent said in a statement.“We will relentlessly target the regime’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds.”The targeted exchange houses — Opal Exchange, Radin Exchange, and Arz Iran Exchange (also known as Tahayyori Guarantee Society) — along with their owners, allegedly orchestrate sophisticated networks of front companies. These networks handle tens of billions of dollars in annual trade for Iran’s sanctioned entities, including its central bank and the National Iranian Oil Co.Treasury issued the designations under an executive order aimed at Iran’s financial sector. Key operators and owners — Iranian nationals Pedram Pirouzan, Hossein Mohammad Rezaei, Masoud Mohammad Rezaei, Nasser Ghasemi Rad, and Ehsan Tahayyori — were also personally hit with Friday’s blocking sanctions.To operate seamlessly, these exchanges rely on shell companies registered to their owners, who frequently list citizenship from Dominica or St.

Kitts and Nevis. This tactic masks their ...