US sanctions network of Iranian financier Babak Zanjani

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added four individuals and nine entities to its sanctions list on 24 July 2026. The designations target components of Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani’s “Dot One” conglomerate, including firms in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, as well as an Istanbul‑based fintech (Zedpay) and its chairperson. The sanctions also cover Zanjani’s digital‑asset exchanges Zedcex and Zedxion, gold‑ and precious‑gem producers, transport and logistics companies, and an $800 million rail contract awarded in April 2025. Zanjani, convicted of embezzlement in 2016 and sentenced to death, had his sentence commuted in 2024 and re‑emerged in 2025 as a backer of regime‑linked infrastructure projects. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Iranian regime is paying “a steep economic price” as the rial hits record lows and inflation soars. The action is part of a broader U.S. strategy that pairs financial pressure with heightened military activity in the Gulf to curb Iran’s ability to fund the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other destabilising activities.