UPDATE: Senate report details 84% of Iran-linked illicit wallets used Tether
CIE News ·
A Senate report titled 'Tethered to Terrorism' found 84% of 846 Iran-linked sanctioned wallets used Tether's USDT, prompting calls for Treasury and DOJ investigations.
As previously reported, Senate Democrats released findings alleging Tether's USDT is used to skirt Iranian sanctions. New details from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations report, titled 'Tethered to Terrorism', show that 84% of 846 cryptocurrency wallets sanctioned or targeted for seizure between June 2021 and August 2026 transacted predominantly or exclusively in USDT, Decrypt reported. The dataset includes 87% of 757 wallets flagged by Israel's National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing and 57% of 101 wallets designated by OFAC.
The subcommittee findings also stated that two sanctioned Iranian oil smugglers moved more than $603 million in USDT between 2021 and 2025 across networks linked to regional proxies and military equipment purchases. Senator Richard Blumenthal referred the findings to the U.S. Treasury Department and the Justice Department, requesting official investigations into Tether's anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance, according to Decrypt.
In response to the allegations, Tether stated that it collaborates directly with global authorities, noting it has supported roughly $550 million in freezes targeting Iran-linked wallets, CoinDesk reported.