The US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on nine companies and four individuals linked to Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani, as part of an economic and military escalation targeting Iran, amid a record collapse of the rial and inflation exceeding 60%.

Zanjani's network enabled Iran to circumvent sanctions and fund the activities of the Revolutionary Guard.

The sanctions include companies operating within the "Dot One" conglomerate inside Iran, and others in Turkey and the UAE that supported Zanjani's digital asset platforms. Zanjani exploited a vast investment network in financial services, gold, digital assets, and infrastructure to launder money and secretly transfer funds for the Iranian regime.

The US State Department confirmed that Zanjani's network enabled Iran to circumvent sanctions and fund the activities of the Revolutionary Guard, noting that the step comes after Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department emphasized that the Iranian economy faces unprecedented pressures with continued currency depreciation and rising inflation.

Zanjani, whose death sentence was commuted in 2024, is a pivotal player in sanctions evasion networks, having returned to support major government projects and establish digital asset companies used to launder money for the Revolutionary Guard.

The sanctions include financial, logistics, and diamond trading companies in Turkey and Dubai, along with related executives, in a step aimed at dismantling his network and preventing international institutions from dealing with it.