US Sanctions Turkey-Based Bank Over Iran Links

The United States has imposed sanctions on three Turkey-based financial entities as the Trump administration intensifies its campaign to restrict Iran's access to the international financial system.

The US Treasury Department said Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, known as Golden Global Bank, and its subsidiaries had facilitated tens of millions of dollars in transactions for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF).

According to the Treasury, the financial institutions also helped Iran's government gain access to international banking networks that allowed funds to be transferred across borders.

The department alleged that Golden Global Bank was established specifically to assist an Iranian "rahbar network", which it described as a covert shadow-banking system used to move oil revenues from China to Turkey.

The Treasury said the network enabled Iranian oil proceeds to be transferred into Turkey, where the money could then be converted into cash and gold through money exchangers linked to the system.

The sanctions form part of Washington's broader effort to increase economic pressure on Tehran and disrupt financial channels that the US says support the Iranian government and its security apparatus.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington was determined to target financial institutions accused of assisting Iran.

"We are serious about sanctioning financial institutions that support the murderous Iranian regime," Bessent said in a statement published by the Treasury Department.

The latest measures further expand US efforts to isolate Iran financially and restrict the movement of funds through international banking networks.