A woman walks down a street in Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 2, 2026. (Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)
The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions Friday on a Turkish bank over its alleged ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as Washington pushes to economically isolate Tehran six months into their war.
The latest action targets Golden Global Bank and its subsidiaries, which the US Treasury said "facilitated tens of millions of dollars' worth of transactions" for the IRGC.
They were also said to have provided Tehran with "key correspondent banking access that allows it to move its funds internationally."
The move comes after Washington last week took a step towards cutting a major Egyptian bank's United Arab Emirates operations from the US financial system.
"Financial institutions continue to find out the hard way that we are serious about Operation Economic Outcast," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement.
"While we hope no more banks will need to be sanctioned, that ultimately depends on how quickly the international community comes to its senses and ceases support of the murderous Iranian regime," he added.
Bessent had said Tuesday that Washington would likely announce a bank sanction this week and one next week, pledging to choke Tehran off economically.
He was speaking on the sidelines of a Group of 20 finance leaders' gathering in Asheville, North Carolina, where he also sought to rally support from partners to pressure Iran in the conflict.
Iran has been at war since late February, when the United States and Israel launched a surprise bombing campaign that killed its supreme leader.
Bessent recently vowed that the United States was declaring an "economic D-Day" on Iran, and warned of harsh consequences for countries that do not join the campaign.
