Iranian money still passes through US bank clearing accounts, officials say

Treasury sanctions Turkish bank over alleged IRGC transfers

Billions of dollars in Iranian-linked funds continue to flow through clearing accounts at American banks each year, despite US sanctions that prohibit almost all financial activity linked to Tehran. Citing Western officials and researchers, the Wall Street Journal’s Morning Risk Report said US financial institutions have become a “weak link” in enforcing the restrictions as the Trump administration tightens its economic squeeze on the country.

The sanctions prohibit anyone subject to US law from taking part in almost all financial activity linked to Iran.

The Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned Turkey’s Golden Global Bank and its subsidiaries, the Journal reported. Treasury accused the institution of moving tens of millions of dollars for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and providing Tehran with access to the global banking system.

The action is the latest under the Trump administration’s Operation Economic Outcast, the Journal reported. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the initiative last month, calling it an “economic D-Day” while saying the US approach would be measured to minimize damage to the global financial system. The campaign is meant to isolate Iran’s economy, including by putting pressure on non-Iranian entities that link Tehran to the global economy and banking system.

Iran’s oil export revenue is drying up as a US naval blockade has reduced shipments from the Persian Gulf and offshore stockpiles feeding China dwindle, according to the Journal. Ship tracker Kpler told the publication that no Iranian crude has crossed the blockade since it was reinstated by the US Navy in mid-July. Iran is still loading small amounts of oil onto tankers, but those barrels remain trapped inside the Gulf.

Meanwhile, the volume of Iranian crude already on vessels outside the blockade — a stockpile that is still generating revenue for Tehran — has fallen to around 29 million barrels from around 90 million barrels in mid-July and could run out next month, according to Kpler.

The Morning Risk Report also noted that the Justice Department’s antitrust division was instructed last week to pause all work with the Canadian government, according to emails reviewed by the publication. In a Wednesday email with the subject line “Pause on Canada,” Lynda Marshall, the chief of the antitrust division’s international section, ordered officials to stop all cooperation on cases and engagement on policy issues with Canadian authorities. She provided no reason for the directive but said she would “circle back if the guidance changes.”

Marshall, in an email to staff sent later Friday afternoon, said she was mistaken and that cooperation with Canada could continue. The episode is the latest development in an escalating trade dispute between the two countries.

The newsletter also reported that Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes are inflicting damage on some of the most strategic sectors of the Russian economy. By targeting refineries, shipping terminals, and e-commerce warehouses, Ukraine is using economic pressure to weaken its larger foe and push Moscow to end the conflict, the Journal reported.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared that the strikes will not change his military aims, and Russia has conducted its own drone strikes. The Ukrainian effort is being felt by ordinary Russians — many of whom were previously shielded from the war’s consequences — against a broader economy that was already slowing after an earlier wartime boom.