US Treasury Sanctions Russia's VTB Bank Over Iran Sanctions Evasion

The US Treasury announced a new round of sanctions on September 14, 2026, against VTB Bank, Russia's state-controlled lender, as part of efforts to economically isolate Iran by targeting its commercial partners and other financial facilitators. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had earlier pledged to impose sanctions on a large bank that day. The Treasury said the sanctions on VTB Bank PJSC stem from the bank's alleged role in helping Iran evade sanctions, including by establishing correspondent banking relationships with sanctioned Iranian banks.

VTB is Russia's second-largest bank and was previously sanctioned by the US government in 2022 and early 2025. It is the only Russian bank with a branch in China, which is the largest buyer of Iranian oil.

In a statement, Bessent said that under Operation Economic Outcast, the Treasury will continue to target and disrupt entities providing material, technical, and financial support to the Iranian regime, will not tolerate any support for the regime, and will keep identifying, exposing, and isolating Iran's facilitators. The operation is part of the Trump administration's non-military pressure strategy toward Iran. The sanctions are among the few imposed since the Trump administration pledged in August 2026 to launch an economic D-Day against Iran, aiming to weaken the regime through global economic pressure.