US Imposes Fresh Iran Sanctions, Targets Turkish Bank and Subsidiaries

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Friday that it imposed new Iran-related sanctions on Istanbul-based investment bank Golden Global Yatirim Bankasi Anonim Sirketi, asset manager Golden Global Portfoy Yonetimi Anonim Sirketi, and asset leasing company Golden Global Varlik Kiralama Anonim Sirketi. The punitive measures place all three entities on the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control Specially Designated Nationals list, cutting them off from the dollar-based financial system.

According to the Treasury, Golden Global was established to help funnel Iranian oil revenues from China through Turkey, where funds were converted into cash and gold by money exchangers. The federal agency stated that the bank knowingly offered correspondent banking services to Iranian financial institutions tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force and its proxies.

"This is code for you are out of business," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent during an interview with America's Voice News, adding that officials will likely target another financial institution the following week.

The ongoing sanctions campaign aims to force Tehran back to the negotiating table amid the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran. However, financial experts remain divided on the long-term effectiveness of these rolling weekly penalties.

"The sanctioning of Golden Global will marginally increase pressure on Iran, but hurting Iran and changing the outcome of this war are two very different things," said Brett Erickson, managing principal of Obsidian Risk Advisors.