OFAC sanctions Iranian officials, crypto exchanges; removes one listed company

WASHINGTON, January 30, 2026 — The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on Friday added seven individuals and two entities to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List in Iran-related actions spanning human rights, counterterrorism and nonproliferation authorities.

The newly listed individuals include Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni Kalagari, Babak Morteza Zanjani, and five officials tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces: Hamid Damghani, Mehdi Hajian, Hossein Zare Kamali, Majid Khademi and Ghorban Mohammad Valizadeh. OFAC’s release said the action targeted officials responsible for violent repression and corruption.

OFAC also designated two UK-registered digital asset exchanges, Zedcex Exchange Ltd. and Zedxion Exchange Ltd. The agency said the exchanges were linked to Zanjani and were designated under Executive Order 13902 for operating in the financial sector of Iran’s economy. The two entities were also designated under Executive Order 13224, as amended, for materially assisting, sponsoring, or providing support to the IRGC.

According to the Treasury release, this was OFAC’s first designation of a digital asset exchange for operating in the financial sector of the Iranian economy. The agency said Zedcex has processed more than $94 billion in transactions since its registration in August 2022, and that Zedxion initially listed Zanjani as its director when it was registered in May 2021.

Separately, OFAC removed Soltech Industry Co., Ltd. from the SDN List. The deletion notice also covered multiple aliases for the same company. OFAC also amended the SDN entry for Mohammad Soltanmohammadi, changing the linked party reference from Soltech Industry Co., Ltd. to Hoda Trading and removing several alternate passport numbers from the listing.