Treasury Designates Russia’s VTB Bank Under Iran-Related Sanctions, Citing Tehran Ties

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday designated VTB Bank, one of Russia’s biggest lenders, under Iran-related sanctions authorities, saying the bank helped Tehran evade U.S. restrictions. The Sept. 14 action by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, was taken under Executive Order 13902 and framed as part of the Trump administration’s broader “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign to cut off Iran’s remaining economic lifelines.

In a press release, Treasury alleged that VTB opened bank offices in Iran in recent years, built correspondent banking relationships with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions over the past three years and expanded its presence in Tehran beginning in January 2025. Treasury also said VTB took steps to move “billions” of frozen Iranian assets and created a settlement system using national currencies, including correspondent accounts in Iranian rials and Russian rubles, to expand bilateral trade. Those claims were made by Treasury and were not independently verified in the department’s announcement.

Treasury said the designation blocks all property and interests in property of VTB that are in the United States or otherwise subject to U.S. jurisdiction. It also said entities owned 50% or more, directly or indirectly, by blocked persons are themselves considered blocked. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with VTB, Treasury said, while non-U.S. persons and financial institutions face increased secondary-sanctions risk if they facilitate significant transactions involving designated Iranian parties or related VTB activity.

The move adds a new sanctions layer to a bank that was already heavily restricted under Russia-related programs. Treasury said VTB had previously been designated on Feb. 24, 2022, under Executive Order 14024 and again on Jan. 15, 2025, under Executive Order 13662. The new step is different because it targets VTB under Iran authorities rather than solely for Russia-related conduct, directly tying the bank to alleged Iranian sanctions evasion under Executive Order 13902, which authorizes sanctions tied to sectors of Iran’s economy.

VTB is a major Russian financial institution, and the Treasury allegations point to deeper banking links between Moscow and Tehran at a time when Washington is widening pressure on foreign intermediaries that keep Iranian business channels open. Prior public reporting said VTB had opened a representative office in Iran and planned to expand it, a detail broadly consistent with Treasury’s description of growing VTB-Iran financial ties.

Treasury said the action falls under Operation Economic Outcast, a sanctions-enforcement campaign announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Aug. 24, 2026. The initiative is aimed at increasing pressure not just on Iran, but also on third-country banks and facilitators that help preserve access to trade and finance. “Under Operation Economic Outcast, Treasury will continue to target and disrupt those who provide material, technological, or financial support that allows the Iranian regime to sustain its terrorist enterprise,” Bessent said in the release. “Treasury will not tolerate any support to the regime and will continue to identify, expose, and isolate Iran’s enablers.”