US sanctions Egyptian bank's UAE branches over Iran dealings

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US sanctions Egyptian bank’s UAE branches over Iran dealings

August 28, 2026

DUBAI,— The United States hit an Egyptian bank with new sanctions tied to Iran on Friday, the latest step in Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s push to tighten economic pressure amid a six-month standoff between Washington and Tehran.

The Treasury Department said it acted to block Banque Misr’s branches in the United Arab Emirates from carrying out dollar transactions connected to Iran.

The department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, known as FinCEN, has proposed a rule to strip Banque Misr’s UAE operations of their correspondent banking ties to U.S. financial institutions.

Bessent had hinted at the move Monday, calling it a “major announcement” involving a secondary sanction on an international bank. The Financial Times first reported the story.

“Treasury promised to sever every economic lifeline Tehran has left and finally end the threat of the Iranian regime,” Bessent said in a statement.

He added that Iran’s financial partners had been warned they could lose access to the dollar and the global banking system, and said Banque Misr’s UAE unit “decided to find out the hard way.”

Egypt’s central bank said Friday the U.S. action was limited to Banque Misr’s UAE branches and does not touch any other Egyptian banks.

It said in a statement that it was working with Egypt’s Foreign Ministry and staying in touch with American officials on the matter.

A Treasury official confirmed the sanctions apply only to the UAE branches, meaning Banque Misr can keep processing dollar transactions through its Cairo headquarters and its other overseas offices, including branches in Paris, Frankfurt, Riyadh, Beirut and Djibouti, according to the bank’s website.

Separately, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the manager of an Iranian Bank Melli branch in the UAE, along with a Hong Kong company accused of helping launder funds for a sanctioned Iranian exchange house.

Banque Misr’s UAE office did not respond to a request for comment, as the request came on a public holiday.

Reza Mohammad Taeedi, the sanctioned Bank Melli branch manager, also did not respond to a request for comment sent by email.

Treasury described Banque Misr’s six UAE branches as a “critical node” giving Iran’s government access to U.S. dollars.

The agency estimated that between January 2024 and June 2026, the UAE branches processed about $1.8 billion in transactions tied to 103 companies believed to be part of Iran’s shadow banking networks.

State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said Bank Melli has functioned as a key financial channel for Iran’s military, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, both already under U.S. sanctions.

Iran has called on other countries not to join the new U.S. sanctions.

Last week, the United Arab Emirates suspended all financial and economic dealings with Iran.

(With files from Reuters)