Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on July 8, 2026, that Iran “definitely” possesses chemical weapons, warning that Tehran would have “no compunction” about using them against Americans. The claim, made during a Newsmax interview, arrives against a backdrop of joint US-Israeli military operations and an increasingly aggressive sanctions posture that has already reached into the crypto industry.
Netanyahu argued that Iran has demonstrated a willingness to harm its own citizens, and that the regime could “murder hundreds of thousands of Americans if they could.”
The crypto sanctions angle
In June 2026, the US Treasury designated Nobitex, Iran’s largest digital asset exchange, for its role in facilitating terror finance and sanctions evasion. That move placed Nobitex squarely on the Office of Foreign Assets Control blacklist, making any interaction with the platform a potential federal offense for US persons and entities.
The Nobitex designation reflects a broader pattern. Washington has spent the last several years tightening the noose on sanctioned nations’ use of crypto infrastructure. North Korea’s Lazarus Group, Russia’s Garantex exchange, and now Iran’s primary crypto on-ramp have all landed in Treasury’s crosshairs.
