By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON, July 24 (Reuters) – The United States on Friday imposed sanctions against nine firms and four people in the business network of sanctioned Iranian financier Babak Zanjani for evading sanctions, even as U.S. forces escalated their strikes across Iran.
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The sanctions add to a broader U.S. campaign of military and economic pressure on Iran. The country’s currency has hit record lows, inflation exceeds 60% and U.S. strikes have intensified from the north to the south of the country.
The U.S. Treasury Department said the new designations target Zanjani’s Iran-based operations under his “Dot One” conglomerate and several firms based in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates that have supported his already designated digital asset exchanges, as well as top executives at those firms.
Treasury said Zanjani had leveraged a diverse portfolio that includes financial services, digital asset trading and gold and precious gem production, along with major infrastructure projects, to launder revenue and move funds covertly for Iran.
“The United States is holding Babak Zanjani and his sprawling network accountable for enabling the Iranian regime to evade sanctions and finance its destabilizing activities, including supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.
“This action applies further pressure on the Iranian regime following its attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz and regional neighbors,” he said, calling on governments worldwide not to engage with Zanjani or others backing the Iranian government.
Reuters was not immediately in a position to reach out to Zanjani for comment.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran was already paying a “steep economic price for its reckless behavior, with the rial plunging to another record low and inflation up massively.” Treasury would continue cutting off economic access for members of the Iranian government and their financiers, he said.
Iran’s currency has hit new lows in recent weeks amid demand for foreign currencies, with the resurgence of military hostilities ratcheting up pressure on Iran’s economy, which is already grappling with 60%-plus inflation and negative growth.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control first designated Zanjani and his two largest digital asset projects, Zedcex Exchange Limited (Zedcex) and Zedxion Exchange Limited (Zedxion) in January.
Zanjani, a billionaire convicted of fraud, has long been a key figure in Iran’s sanctions-evasion network. He was sentenced to death by Iranian authorities in 2016 for embezzlement. His sentence was commuted in 2024, and he re-emerged as a backer of Iranian government economic projects by 2025, Treasury said.
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After his commutation, Zanjani backed a series of high‑profile infrastructure and transportation ventures and built a network of digital asset companies, including Zedcex and Zedxion, which Treasury said were used in part to launder money for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Zanjani also played a key role as chief executive and financial backer for multiple Iran-based “Dot One” projects across the country, including an $800 million rail contract secured in April 2025, Treasury said.
It said it was designating Dot One Value Creation Group (Dot One Value), the group’s primary holding company, and Dot One Gold Company, its gold bar minter, producer, and custodian company, for their ties to Zanjani, as well as Dot One Rail Co, Dot One Barter Co, Dot One Airlines Co, and Dot One Trip.
Also designated were:
• Istanbul-based Zedpay Finansal Sistem Ve Hizmetleri Anonim Sirketi (Zedpay) for its work providing cross-border payment capabilities to the sanctioned entity Zedxion, and its chairperson, Mehdi Rezazadeh.
• Dubai-based Zedx DMCC (Zedx) for its ties to Zanjani’s Zedcexm along with its manager Sukhrob Oimakhmadov.
• Dubai-based BZ Diamond FZCO (BZ Diamond), a dealer of lab-grown and natural diamonds managed by Zanjani’s sister, Bahareh Morteza Zanjani, and the sister herself.
• Zanjani’s partner, Solmaz Bani, who has registered websites for Zanjani’s companies.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Michelle Nichols, Andrea Ricci and Sanjeev Miglani)
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