Trump admin targets one of Russia’s largest banks for supporting Iran

Majid Asgaripour/WANA/Reuters/File

The Trump administration targeted one of Russia’s largest banks on Monday for its alleged support for Iran – the latest move in its pressure campaign against Tehran.

The United States previously sanctioned VTB Bank in February 2022 in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and again in January 2025 for Russian sanctions evasion efforts.

Now, the US Treasury Department is imposing sanctions on VTB Bank for allegedly helping Iran to evade sanctions, as the administration seeks to cut off financial support for Tehran as the Iran war drags on.

“The United States sanctioned VTB Bank, one of Russia’s largest financial institutions, for helping Iran evade sanctions and sustain its support for terrorism,” the State Department said Monday. “VTB Bank opened offices in Iran, built banking ties with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions, and worked to move billions of dollars in Iranian assets.”

“VTB is now among the most comprehensively sanctioned financial institutions in the world,” the Treasury Department said in a separate press release Monday.

There are more than 1,000 VTB Bank branches worldwide, including in China – one of Iran’s most important economic partners. Experts and foreign diplomats have expressed skepticism that the US will act directly against Beijing, especially ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s expected visit to Washington this month.

In its announcement Monday, the US Treasury Department noted that “foreign financial institutions that continued to deal with VTB following its designation under OFAC’s Iran sanctions authorities are exposed to even more sanctions risk than before and should cut off those relationships immediately.”

Foreign institutions had already been exposed to secondary sanctions, which were imposed under the Biden administration. However, the Trump administration believes the threat of secondary sanctions will be taken more seriously now that VTB has also been sanctioned under Iran-related authorities.

As part of its latest economic pressure campaign, dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast,” the administration has threatened potentially dire economic consequences for those supporting Iran, including cutting them off from the US dollar system.

The Treasury Department said Monday it would meet this week “with global financial institutions to arm them with the information they need to shut down revenue streams and procurement networks tied to the Iranian regime, the IRGC, Iran’s terrorist proxies, and their enablers.” It is one of several engagements between the Treasury Department and foreign financial institutions to discuss the pressure campaign and warn of the risks.

Last week, the US took sweeping actions against Iran’s airline industry . In the weeks prior, the US also imposed sanctions on a Turkish bank and the Dubai branch manager of Iran’s biggest bank, and proposed cutting off the United Arab Emirates branches of Banque Misr, Egypt’s second largest bank, from the US financial market.

Still, experts and diplomats have questioned the overall impact the flow of new sanctions campaign will have on Tehran, which has withstood decades of economic pressure.

马吉德·阿斯加里普尔/WANA/路透社/文件

周一，特朗​​普政府以俄罗斯一家大型银行涉嫌支持伊朗为由，将其列为打击目标——这是其对德黑兰施压行动的最新举措。

美国此前曾于 2022 年 2 月因俄罗斯全面入侵乌克兰而对 VTB 银行实施制裁，并于 2025 年 1 月再次因俄罗斯规避制裁的行为而对其进行制裁。

现在，美国财政部正对VTB银行实施制裁，理由是该银行涉嫌帮助伊朗规避制裁。随着伊朗战争的持续，美国政府正寻求切断对德黑兰的财政支持。

美国国务院周一表示：“美国对俄罗斯最大的金融机构之一VTB银行实施制裁，原因是该银行帮助伊朗规避制裁并持续支持恐怖主义。VTB银行在伊朗开设办事处，与受制裁的伊朗金融机构建立银行业务联系，并试图转移数十亿美元的伊朗资产。”

美国财政部周一在另一份新闻稿中表示：“VTB银行现在是世界上受到制裁最全面的金融机构之一。”

VTB银行在全球拥有超过1000家分行，其中包括中国——伊朗最重要的经济伙伴之一。专家和外国外交官对美国是否会直接对北京采取行动表示怀疑，尤其是在中国领导人习近平预计将于本月访问华盛顿之际。

美国财政部周一发布公告称，“在VTB被美国财政部外国资产控制办公室（OFAC）列入伊朗制裁名单后，继续与VTB进行业务往来的外国金融机构将面临比以往更大的制裁风险，应立即切断这些业务关系。”

外国机构此前已受到拜登政府实施的二级制裁。然而，特朗普政府认为，鉴于VTB银行也因与伊朗相关的制裁而受到牵连，二级制裁的威胁将会得到更严肃的对待。

作为其最新经济施压行动“经济排斥行动”的一部分，美国政府威胁称，支持伊朗的人将面临严重的经济后果，包括切断他们与美元体系的联系。

美国财政部周一表示，本周将与全球金融机构会面，“向它们提供所需信息，以便切断与伊朗政权、伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队、伊朗恐怖主义代理人及其支持者相关的收入来源和采购网络。” 这是财政部与外国金融机构就施压行动和风险警告进行的多场会晤之一。

上周，美国对伊朗航空业采取了全面制裁措施。此前几周，美国还对一家土耳其银行和伊朗最大银行迪拜分行的经理实施了制裁，并提议切断埃及第二大银行——埃及银行（Banque Misr）在阿联酋的分支机构与美国金融市场的联系。

不过，专家和外交官们仍然质疑，这一系列新的制裁行动会对德黑兰产生怎样的总体影响，德黑兰已经承受了数十年的经济压力。