Washington Imposes Sanctions on Russian Bank Amid Economic Pressure on Iran

The United States has imposed sanctions on VTB Bank, Russia’s second-largest bank, as part of its intensified economic pressure on Iran.

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott announced the decision on Monday via the X platform, stating: “The United States has sanctioned VTB Bank for helping Iran evade sanctions and fund terrorism by opening offices in Iran, maintaining relationships with sanctioned Iranian banks, and transferring billions of dollars in Iranian assets.”

The Russian bank is accused of opening branches in Iran, maintaining ties with sanctioned Iranian banks, and facilitating the transfer of Iranian assets worth billions of dollars.

VTB Bank (Bank for Foreign Trade) is Russia’s second-largest bank after Sberbank. Established in 1990, it is majority-owned by the Russian state.

Under the US measures, all of VTB Bank’s assets in the United States will be frozen, and transactions with the sanctioned entity will be prohibited.

Earlier this month, the United States sanctioned Turkey’s Golden Global Bank, alleging that it facilitated transactions worth several million dollars on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. As with VTB Bank, all of the bank’s assets in the United States were frozen and transactions with it were banned.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to pressure Iran through an “economic war.”

Washington stated that these organizations are based in Iraq, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey.

The United States had previously imposed sanctions on several major Iranian airlines, adding 27 companies to the sanctions list, including Kish Airlines, Iran Air Tours, and ATA Airlines.