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US weighs redirecting $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets to Gulf allies for war damage
The Treasury Department's plan to reroute Iran's frozen funds coincides with a $500 million crypto seizure from Iran's largest digital exchange.
The US Treasury Department is exploring a plan to redirect a portion of Iran’s frozen assets, estimated at $24 billion, toward Gulf allies as compensation for damage caused by Iranian military strikes. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has ordered his team to compile damage assessments from affected nations, signaling the administration is serious about turning financial pressure into tangible reconstruction funding.
The proposal surfaced on June 6, 2026, shortly after fresh Iranian attacks targeted Kuwait and Bahrain. Bessent has indicated willingness to use all available authorities to channel frozen funds toward recovery costs, covering both past destruction and future protective measures against ongoing Iranian military activity in the region.
The financial battlefield
Iran’s globally frozen wealth is estimated between $100 billion and $120 billion, with roughly $2 billion held within the United States. The $24 billion figure under discussion represents the portion the US believes it can legally redirect.
Iran has called the plan flatly illegal. Tehran is not just objecting, it’s counter-punching with demands for the unfreezing of its own $24 billion and an additional $270 billion in damages from the United States.
Ceasefire negotiations have stalled. With no talks progressing and Bessent actively soliciting damage estimates from allied states affected since the conflict began in February 2026, the frozen asset question has moved from theoretical to operational.
The crypto dimension: Nobitex and $500 million in seized digital assets
Alongside the frozen asset debate, the US has intensified its sanctions enforcement against Iranian digital financial infrastructure. Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital assets exchange, was hit with sanctions that led to the seizure of approximately $500 million in cryptocurrencies linked to Iranian networks.
No specific tokens were identified in connection with the seizure. For context, $500 million is a significant seizure by any standard. It dwarfs most individual enforcement actions by US authorities against crypto entities and puts Nobitex in a category alongside the largest sanctions-related forfeitures in digital asset history.