OfficialDiplomacy & politicsWashington, D.C.
US sanctions Iranian crypto exchange BitBank over Hormuz transit payments
- Mountain Time
- Local time
- 2:16 PM in New York
- Where
- Washington, D.C.
OFAC designated BitBank, its developer Pishtaz Simorgh and three associates of financier Babak Zanjani, saying the exchange routes funds to the IRGC and processes payments for Strait of Hormuz transit under Iran's new strait authority.
Why it matters
The sanctions target the financial infrastructure behind Iran's newly created Hormuz transit-approval scheme, aiming to cut off a revenue and enforcement mechanism Iran is using to control shipping through the strait.
Sources (3)
- Times of Israeltimesofisrael.com
- Al Jazeera live blogaljazeera.comPublished
- The Times of Israel live blogtimesofisrael.comPublished
Confidence: Stated by a named government, military, or institution. Not independently confirmed. About confidence labels
Correction
- Corrected the time from 10:07 PM Jerusalem time, Sep 17, 2026 to 2:16 PM New York time, Sep 17, 2026; corrected the headline (it read "US Treasury sanctions Iranian crypto exchange BitBank over Hormuz transit payments"); revised the summary; updated the sourcing note; added 2 sources: Al Jazeera live blog, The Times of Israel live blog. Why and evidence