A Turkish bank has been sanctioned by the United States for allegedly moving Iranian oil revenues to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Trump administration targeted Istanbul-based Golden Global Bank on Friday, accusing it of channeling money earned from Iranian oil sales in China directly to one of Tehran’s most powerful military forces.
The Treasury Department announced the action as part of a broader push to cut Iran off from the global financial system. U.S. officials say Golden Global Bank operated inside a shadow financial network designed to move oil proceeds out of China and into the hands of the IRGC and its elite Quds Force.
As originally reported, the sanctions are part of Operation Economic Outcast, a pressure campaign led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent designed to strangle the revenue streams Tehran relies on to sell oil, evade existing sanctions, and fund its operations beyond its borders.
The move represents another escalation in Washington’s economic war against Iran. The administration has made it a priority to close off the financial channels the Iranian regime uses to keep cash flowing despite years of U.S. and international sanctions.
Golden Global Bank, headquartered in Istanbul, sits at the center of these latest allegations. Officials claim it served as a critical link in a network that converted Iranian oil profits from Chinese buyers into accessible funds for the IRGC, the powerful military organization the United States designates as a foreign terrorist organization.
The Quds Force, the IRGC unit responsible for foreign operations and proxy support across the Middle East, was identified as a direct beneficiary of the funds moved through the bank.
Operation Economic Outcast signals that the Bessent-led Treasury is not limiting its focus to Iranian institutions alone. By going after a Turkish bank, Washington is sending a clear message to third-party financial institutions worldwide that facilitating Iran’s oil trade carries serious consequences.
Iran has long relied on informal financial networks and intermediaries in countries outside direct U.S. reach to keep its oil revenues moving. Friday’s sanctions target exactly that kind of arrangement, placing Golden Global Bank on a list that effectively cuts it off from the U.S. financial system and warns other institutions against doing business with it.
The action is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to tighten economic pressure on Tehran. Officials have framed the campaign as part of a maximum pressure strategy aimed at forcing Iran to the negotiating table or limiting its ability to project power through armed proxies in the region.
