Trump admin's Operation Epic Fury takes aim at banks handling Iranian money
Treasury warns banks in UAE, Oman, Hong Kong, China over Iranian money flows
Treasury cracks down on Iran's money flow with financial blockade
FOX Business correspondent Edward Lawrence reports on the Trump administration's crackdown on Iran's finances as the Treasury Department targets banks for handling Iranian illicit money on 'The Big Money Show.'
The Trump administration is sending letters to banks in four areas about handling Iranian money.
The letter obtained by FOX Business says the Treasury Department has evidence that banks in Oman, the UAE, Hong Kong and China have allowed Iranian funds used for illicit activities to be funneled through them.
A senior administration official not authorized to speak publicly says this is the first step to adding secondary sanctions on those banks, which would cut them off from the U.S. financial system.
CHINA EMERGES AS UNEXPECTED PLAYER IN TRUMP’S IRAN DIPLOMACY PUSH
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday warned companies and countries against paying Iran to transit the Strait of Hormuz. (Abdul Saboor/Reuters)
"Now is the time to finally disable Iran’s ability to support terrorism, threaten the region and global markets, and seek to continue its nuclear and ballistic missile program, which the U.N. has prohibited," the letter said.
CHINA-RUSSIA'S COOPERATION HANDS THE US A ‘GRIEVOUS LOSS’ AS IRAN CONFLICT ESCALATES, EXPERT WARNS
The Trump administration is sending letters to banks in four areas about handling Iranian money. (Andrew Kelly/Reuters)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday warned companies and countries against paying Iran to transit the Strait of Hormuz because that opens them up to secondary sanctions. Bessent is leading the sanction charge in Operation Epic Fury.
CONGRESSIONAL REPORT DETAILS HOW CHINA BUYS SANCTIONED OIL FROM IRAN, RUSSIA AND VENEZUELA
Tankers are seen at the Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-sea port in the region and one of the major container ports in the Sharjah Emirate, along the Strait of Hormuz. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images)
This letter is different, but shows the administration's willingness to up the ante and truly go after the Iranian money.
The U.S. waiver to sell Iranian oil at sea will expire on April 19.