US Treasury warns allies could lose dollar access over dealings with Iran

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said countries and international organizations that keep operating with Iran could be cut off from the global dollar system. For high-risk PSPs, that is the part that matters: once sanctions risk turns into dollar-access risk, correspondent banking stops being a theoretical concern and becomes the business problem.

1. Bessent made the warning at a press conference tied to Washington’s economic operation against Tehran. His line was blunt: if countries “do not want to meet our expectations,” they should be prepared to “leave the dollar system.” He described the move as a “warning shot.”
2. The Treasury secretary also announced sanctions on more than 60 organizations, individuals, and vessels worldwide that support Iran. According to the text, the list includes companies from China, the UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Europe.
3. The US operation is called “Economic Exile.” The source also says Washington has framed the broader campaign as an effort to strip Tehran of income and resources.
4. The same text says the US previously claimed to have seized $1 billion in Iranian cryptocurrency assets, and that in April 2026 Bessent said $344 million had been frozen in wallets linked to Iran.
5. There is also a second timeline in the source: it says the US began an operation called “Economic Fury” against Iran on 28 February 2026, resumed a blockade of Iranian ports on 14 July 2026, and that Trump had announced a separate “crushing economic operation” called “Economic Fury” a week earlier.

For PSPs, acquirers, and banks, the practical takeaway is simple: the current US posture is not limited to designating counterparties. It explicitly ties Iran exposure to access to the dollar system, which is where payment flows either clear or get awkward very quickly.