Tether and Iran: Senate PSI Says 84% of 846 Studied Wallets Relied Almost Entirely on USDT
Tether faces a new level of U.S. sanctions and anti-money-laundering scrutiny after Democratic staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations published a September 28 report on USDT use in Iran-linked financial networks. The headline finding is: 84% of 846 studied wallets transacted exclusively or nearly exclusively in USDT. The same day, Tether published a detailed response centered on its law-enforcement record and said it had supported approximately: $550 million of Iran-linked USDT freezes during 2026. These statements are not mutually exclusive. The policy dispute is about whether issuer-level controls were applied quickly and proactively enough, not whether Tether has a technical ability to freeze USDT.Who issued the report? The report was released by Senator Richard Blumenthal, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. It reflects the work of PSI Democratic investigators/staff. That distinction matters politically and legally. It is a congressional investigative report, not:a Treasury sanctions designation;a DOJ indictment;an SEC/CFTC order;a court judgment.What wallets were studied? PSI says investigators analyzed blockchain transaction data from: 846 unique cryptocurrency wallets that had been:sanctioned; ortargeted for seizure; because of associations with Iran and regional proxies. The designations/seizure targets came from U.S. and Israeli authorities over several years.The 84% finding The Senate release says: 84% of the 846 wallets transacted exclusively or nearly exclusively in USDT. The









