On December 8, 2020, the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control announced three Iran-related designations for two individuals and one entity, for supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF). All three designations were made pursuant to the Executive Order 13224, as amended, for supporting or acting on behalf of the IRGC-QF – a group that was designated by OFAC in 2007, pursuant to EO 13224, for supporting multiple terrorist organizations, and designated by the State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2019.
OFAC designated Hasan Irlu for being an official in the IRGC-QF who acted as an envoy to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and supported IRGC-QF efforts to provide weapons and training to the Houthis, and to Hizballah members in Iran. Iran-based Al-Mustafa International University was designated for supporting IRGC-QF’s recruitment efforts, and enlisting students and unwitting tourists for international intelligence operations and IRGC-QF-led militias formed to fight in Syria. Finally, Yousef Ali Maraj, a Pakistani national based in Iran, was designated for assisting IRGC-QF efforts to plan and execute operations in the Middle East and US.
As a result of these designations, all US property for these persons and entities is blocked, and all transactions and dealings with US persons are generally prohibited. In addition, transactions with entities that are owned 50 percent or more by a sanctioned individual are also blocked.