The United States announced Friday that it is "dismantling a sophisticated Iranian network" used to obtain sensitive military technology, and also seized $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency assets.
The network "impersonated and defrauded" dozens of American technology companies out of millions of dollars to "acquire advanced equipment -- including spectrum analyzers and security detection devices -- for Iran's defence sector," State Department Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
The statement did not name the technology companies who were lured into doing business through fake websites that "mimicked real American companies, using intermediaries in Dubai to receive shipments, and then smuggling the technology into Iran in violation of US sanctions."
The network was led by Iran-based Ali Majd Sepehr, the State Department spokesman said.
On Thursday, the State Department announced a $15 million reward for any information "leading to the disruption of the financial mechanisms of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its various branches."
On Friday the White House said US President Donald Trump will only sign an agreement to end the war with Iran if it meets all his demands, amid uncertainty over the outcome of talks between Tehran and Washington.
$1b crypto assets seized
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced that the US has seized $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency assets as part of the economic component of President Trump’s war on the Islamic Republic.
Speaking on Friday at the 2026 Reagan National Economic Forum, Bessent said the US believes Iran had been stealing about $400 to $500 million a month through sanctions evasion. "This is money that's been stolen from the Iranian people," Bessent said.
"I believe that we have seized about a billion dollars of their crypto," Bessent told Fox News' Larry Kudlow. "Just outright grabbed the wallets. Some of them may be typing in right now and might not realize that their wallet has been grabbed."
On April 29, Bessent said the US had seized "nearly $500 million" in Iranian crypto assets. "We are freezing bank accounts everywhere. More importantly, we are making people less willing to deal with the regime," Bessent said at the time.Top of Form
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In August 2025, Bessent said the US government would not be buying bitcoin for its strategic reserve but would continue to use confiscated assets to build it up. He reaffirmed that front this past January.
"The policy of this government is to add seized bitcoin to our digital asset reserve after the damages are done," Bessent said earlier this year. "So, the bitcoin reserve, our view, was first you have to stop selling, which we have done, and then we can add the assets and asset forfeitures."
The US government holds approximately 328,372 BTC, according to Arkham, making it the largest known state holder of Bitcoin in the world. At current prices, that's worth just over $24 billion.–Agencies