Banking on the dollar: How Iran keeps $9bn flowing through US banks despite sanctions

US sanctions on Iran undermined by $9B in funds still passing through American banks (AI-generated image) The US is trying to squeeze Iran out of the global financial system. But a Wall Street Journal investigation has found that billions of dollars linked to Iran still pass through US banks each year, exposing a striking weakness in Washington’s sanctions campaign.Iranian funds can reach American banks indirectly through foreign financial institutions that maintain correspondent-banking relationships with US lenders. Front companies and currency exchanges can disguise the Iranian connection before dollar transactions reach US banks for settlement, the report said.The scale is significant. The US Treasury identified about $9 billion in Iranian funds that passed through American banks in 2024, according to the WSJ report.The revelation comes as President Donald Trump’s administration escalates its financial pressure on Tehran through “Operation Economic Outcast”, warning companies and countries against doing business with Iran and threatening to cut offenders off from the US financial system.Oil stored at sea acts as a lifelineTehran has spent years developing alternative channels t...