U.S. Freezes $344M in Iran-Linked USDT as Trump Pressures Tehran

In the latest U.S-Iran update, the Trump administration froze $344 million in USDT, which is reportedly linked to Iran. This comes as U.S. President Donald Trump pressures Iran, including through the blockade at the Strait of Hormuz, which he claimed is significantly impacting Tehran financially.

U.S.-Iran Update: U.S. Freezes Iran-Linked USDT

According to a CNN report, the Trump administration froze $344 million in USDT, which they revealed was linked to Iran. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that his agency is sanctioning multiple wallets tied to Iran.

“We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately attempting to move outside of the country and target all financial lifelines tied to the regime,” he said in a statement. USDT issuer Tether had earlier announced that it had supported the U.S. government in freezing this sum across two addresses on the layer-1 network TRON.

The freeze comes as the U.S. continues to pressure Iran into making a deal. Notably, the U.S. has placed a blockade at the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump claimed is costing Iran $500 million daily.

Interestingly, Iran had chosen Bitcoin over stablecoins for toll payments at the Strait of Hormuz to avoid the risk of the U.S. seizing these assets. Meanwhile, the U.S. now holds up to $2 billion directly in Iran-linked funds. Iran’s frozen funds have come up in negotiations, with Iran demanding that the U.S. unfreeze them as a condition for a peace deal.

Another Peace Talk Could Hold Soon

In another U.S.-Iran update, the second round of peace talks could hold this weekend. According to CNN, Trump is sending special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan to participate in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who led the first round of talks, is not planning to attend but will be on standby. This is because Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation in the first round of talks, is not participating this time around.

As CoinGape reported, Trump said peace talks could resume as soon as this weekend. However, there has yet to be a precise date for these talks. The crypto market is down amid uncertainty about when peace talks could resume.

Bitcoin is currently trading at around $77,800, down from an intraday high of around $78,400 today, according to TradingView data. However, the leading crypto is still up over 3% over the last week amid optimism that the U.S.-Iran war could end soon.