On March 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, in coordination with the Kingdom of Bahrain, designated four individuals for supporting terrorist group Al-Ashtar Brigades. OFAC reported that three of the designees are Iran-based operatives of Al-Ashtar Brigades and one is a financial facilitator for the group. Since 2018, Al-Ashtar Brigades has been designated in the United States as Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The recent designations were intended to highlight the critical role that Iran has played in supporting Al-Ashtar Brigades. According to OFAC, Iran has served as a safe haven for the group and its members since at least 2018 when the government of Bahrain charged numerous individuals for engaging in terrorism-related activities, and a number of them fled from Bahrain to Iran to evade prison sentences.
The designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended, which targets terrorist groups and their supporters. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of the designated persons within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving a designated person. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.