This week, an Iranian general called for a unique way to circumvent the sanctions imposed by the United States on his country.
Saeed Muhammad, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, called on Iran to use cryptocurrencies to escape economic sanctions. According to the Telegram chain of Coinit.ir, an Iran-based crypto news organization, General address a crowd on February 26 (translated from Persian):
“We are calling for the creation of a more sophisticated mechanism to circumvent the sanctions. To circumvent the sanctions, we must develop solutions such as the exchange of products and the use of cryptocurrencies with our partnerships [in other countries]. “
The people of Iran have seen the value of their currency drop significantly as a result of the punishments imposed by the Trump administration following the U.S. withdrawal from the Joint comprehensive action plan in 2018.
The sanctions have effectively isolated Iran from foreign trade and investment, and the use of cryptocurrencies has grown steadily since to bypass them. Bitcoin was described in interviews as one of the only ways to get money inside and outside the country.
The administration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ad it would launch a national cryptocurrency in 2018. More recently, the Iranian Ministry of Industries, Mines and Trade has issued more than 1,000 cryptocurrency licenses to domestic operations.
Earler this week, the Intergovernmental Task Force on Financial Action added Iran to a blacklist countries that do not meet the terrorist financing requirements.
