The Israeli Ministry of Defense has announced that it has ordered the seizure of 187 cryptocurrency accounts allegedly connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The decision, declared on September 15, is considered the latest step in Israel’s counterterrorism efforts.
According to an official document released by the National Bureau for Counter-Terror Financing (NBCTF), the accounts in question are owned by the IRGC and were allegedly used “to carry out serious acts of terrorism.” It is worth noting that the IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, Israel, and several other countries.
However, blockchain analytics firm Elliptic stated that it could not fully confirm whether the accounts belonged to the IRGC. The company noted that although these accounts had processed transactions totaling approximately $1.5 billion in Tether (USDT) stablecoin over time, only $1.5 million remained in them. This amount represents a very small fraction of the total volume moved through the accounts.
The Israeli Ministry of Defense did not disclose how the 187 accounts were specifically linked to the IRGC. Elliptic added in its blog post that some of these addresses may belong to cryptocurrency service providers used by many customers, not exclusively the IRGC.
Cyberattacks and Financing
Amir Rashidi, Director of Digital Rights and Security for Iran, suggested that Israel may have obtained information about these accounts through a hacking operation against Iran’s digital infrastructure. He also highlighted that there have long been rumors about the IRGC using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions.
This is not the first time Israel has targeted Iranian crypto assets. In June, the hacker group “Predatory Sparrow” attacked Nobitex, Iran’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, stealing $90 million in digital assets. The hackers then transferred the funds to inaccessible or “burned” addresses, effectively destroying them. Intelligence firms such as Elliptic and TRM Labs had previously reported that Nobitex was being used by the IRGC.
These developments illustrate how states and terrorist organizations are increasingly relying on cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions and conceal financial networks. At the same time, they underscore the growing need for advanced cyber warfare and intelligence tools to detect and disrupt such activities.
