The United States has hit Iran's payment networks — risks for settlements through the UAE and Turkey
OFAC, the Department of the Treasury's foreign Assets control unit, has consistently shut down the Iranian government's payment channels. The new package of sanctions targets "secret banking networks" — structures that mask the Iranian origin of transactions and allow money to move through the global financial system under the guise of neutral transactions.
The mechanics of these networks are well known: Iranian companies operate through chains of nominee agents, front companies, and bank accounts in countries that have not joined the sanctions. The UAE, Turkey, Iraq, Malaysia and a number of other jurisdictions have historically been the main nodes of such chains.
The problem for Russian business is not in connection with Iran, but in the fact that some of the structures listed as Iranian intermediaries simultaneously serve Russian clients. If your agent in the UAE or a correspondent bank in Turkey is on the OFAC sanctions list, your transactions may be frozen or rejected by the correspondent bank in the dollar system, even if they are not linked to Iran.
The pressure on the region is cumulative. The 20th package of EU sanctions, which also began in April 2026, added restrictions on Russian ports, ships, and crypto platforms. Now, US sanctions against Iranian financial networks create an additional level of caution for banks in the UAE and Turkey — they are becoming more conservative about any transactions where there is at least an indirect connection with the sanctioned jurisdictions.
A practical algorithm for business now. First, request up-to-date compliance documents from all financial intermediaries in the UAE, Turkey and other countries in the region and confirmation of their absence from the OFAC, EU and UK OFSI sanctions lists. Second, check the correspondent banks throughout the payment chain. Third, to include force majeure clauses in contracts in case payments are frozen due to changes in the sanctions regime.
The crisis in the Strait of Hormuz makes the Iranian issue particularly acute — logistics through the region is already disrupted, and now financial instability is being added. For companies building supplies through the UAE or Oman as an alternative to the Iranian corridor, it is important to make sure that their partners in these countries are not subject to restrictions.
