It is not known whether the freezing of funds will affect Iran's attitude towards the war and negotiations with the US, notes CNN, which reported information about Washington's move on Friday.
“We will follow the money that Tehran is desperately trying to get out of the country and we will hit all financial lifelines associated with the regime.” – said Bessent, who is trying to increase economic pressure on Iran amid the war that has been ongoing since late February.
US authorities link frozen money to Tehran
On Thursday, Tether, the company that issues the cryptocurrency of the same name (USDT), announced that it had “supported the US government in freezing” $344 million. at two addresses. A US official told CNN that the government has information linking these funds to Iran.
Authorities in countries under strict sanctions, such as Iran, Russia and North Korea, are increasingly turning to cryptocurrencies, which are less regulated than the traditional banking system, to generate revenue and bypass restrictions.
Daniel Tannebaum, an expert at the Atlantic Council, said that the amount of frozen assets is “significant”, but – given the scale of sanctions imposed on Iran – he does not think it will contribute to a change in Iranian behavior.
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Witkoff and Kushner will travel to Pakistan on Saturday for talks with Iran
Meanwhile White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt announced that on Saturday morning US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the head of state's son-in-law Jared Kushner will go to Pakistan for talks with a delegation of the Iranian authorities.
“The Iranians reached out, as the president requested, and asked for that one-on-one conversation,” Leavitt said on Fox News. – So Steve and Jared will see what they have to say. We hope that this will be a productive conversation and that we will be able to move this issue forward towards an agreement, she added.
