LONDON: The Trump administration is warning banks in the UAE and Hong Kong over Iran-linked financial flows, in what appears to be the latest step in Washington’s effort to tighten pressure on Tehran’s shadow banking network, Fox Business reported on Wednesday.
Other countries also warned were China and Oman, as the report quoted a senior official saying that the Treasury had sent letters to banks in the four jurisdictions that allegedly handled Iranian funds used for illicit activity.
The letters are understood to be a first step toward possible secondary sanctions, which could cut the institutions off from the US financial system.
The move comes as US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that companies and countries paying Iran to transit the Strait of Hormuz could also face sanctions exposure.
It also follows a temporary US waiver allowing some Iranian oil sales to help stabilize markets, which is due to expire on April 19 and will not be renewed, according to reporting on the Treasury decision.
The Treasury has repeatedly targeted Iran’s shadow banking and oil-financing network in the past year, including entities and individuals in Hong Kong and the UAE that it says helped to move billions of dollars through the international financial system.