The U.S. Department of the Treasury has placed the Misr bank, the second largest financial entity in Egypt, at the center of its sanctions this Friday, announcing that it is working to block its subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates from accessing the U.S. financial system due to its alleged commercial ties with Iran. This is the first large-scale economic action since President Donald Trump proclaimed a "economic war" against Tehran a few days ago.
Specifically, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), under the Treasury, has proposed new regulations aimed at revoking the banking correspondent relationships of Misr's subsidiary in the United Arab Emirates "with U.S. financial institutions."
According to the Treasury, this entity has become "a fundamental financial hub for the Iranian regime." Between January 2024 and June 2026, it "processed approximately $1.8 billion (€1.55 billion) for 103 companies that could be part of Iranian shadow banking networks."
Washington authorities maintain that among the clients of Misr's Emirati branch are "front companies used by the Iranian Ministry of Defense and the Revolutionary Guard to evade U.S. sanctions, as well as to launder money on behalf of the Iranian supreme leader, Mojtaba Jamenei."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has explained that this proposal is part of their goal to "cut all economic ties" to Iran, and emphasized that the United States had already warned that it would punish any entity or country that provided economic support to Tehran.
"Banco Misr EAU decided to find out the hard way and today we are taking the first step to hold it accountable for its continued and atrocious support of the Iranian regime," Bessent stated when announcing the start of the sanction process.
With this initiative, no financial institution based in the United States will be able to channel or authorize operations in which Misr EAU participates, which would effectively expel it from the U.S. banking circuit.
At the same time, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on the director of the Banco Melli branch in Dubai, Reza Mohamad Taeedi, whom it accuses of facilitating transactions worth "billions of dollars" through accounts linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, allowing this military force to operate both inside and outside the Central Asian country.
The OFAC has applied a similar measure against Kameng Trading Limited, a "front" company registered in Hong Kong, accused of participating in money laundering operations for an Iranian exchange house that had already been previously sanctioned by Washington.