World News
Iran relies on shadow networks and cryptocurrency to counter US sanctions
Tehran turns to experienced businessmen like Babak Zanjani to bypass expanding American economic restrictions on trade and oil.
The short version
- Iran is utilizing illicit networks and digital assets to circumvent severe US sanctions targeting its banking, oil, and shipping sectors.
- Billionaire Babak Zanjani, recently freed from an Iranian death sentence over corruption charges, has re-emerged to propose cryptocurrency-based evasion strategies.
- Washington has expanded sanctions to hit Zanjani's broader network, leaving the long-term effectiveness of the economic measures uncertain.
Key facts
- The Trump administration has enacted economic measures against Iran's trade, focusing on oil, banking, shipping, and cryptocurrency channels.[Deutsche Welle]
- Babak Zanjani, who formerly controlled an international empire of roughly 60 companies used to sell Iranian oil, was released from prison in 2025 after a previous death sentence for withholding state oil revenues.[Deutsche Welle]
- Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported that Zanjani proposed using cryptocurrencies to finance and secure oil shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz.[Deutsche Welle]
- The US added Zanjani back to its sanctions list in January 2026 and broadened the measures in July 2026 to target linked associates and companies.[Deutsche Welle]
What remains uncertain
- It remains uncertain whether new US sanctions will effectively dismantle Iran's decades-old evasion networks as Tehran pivots to digital assets.[Deutsche Welle]
- The total volume of funds that moved through Zanjani's past corporate network and his personal financial gains remain unknown.[Deutsche Welle]
Sources
- Iran bets on shadow networks to evade US sanctionsDeutsche Welle