Today, the President signed an Executive Order modernizing and strengthening sanctions authorities to combat terrorism. Today’s Executive Order is the most significant update of terrorist designation authorities since the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, and will enable the United States to more effectively sanction the leaders of terrorist organizations and those who train to commit acts of terrorism.
The State Department is moving aggressively to implement these new authorities. Today, the Department designated Hurras al-Din, an al-Qa’ida-affiliated group in Syria, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). The Department has also designated as SDGTs 12 leaders of previously designated groups, including Hizballah, HAMAS, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, ISIS, ISIS-Philippines, ISIS-West Africa, and Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan. In addition to these actions, the Department of the Treasury has designated 15 terrorists affiliated with ISIS, ISIS-Philippines, ISIS-Khorasan, al-Qa’ida, HAMAS, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force under the same authority.
Today’s actions seek to deny these terrorists the resources to plan and carry out attacks. All of their property and interests in property subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.
Terrorist designations expose and isolate organizations and individuals, and deny them access to the U.S. financial system. Moreover, designations can assist the law enforcement activities of U.S. agencies and other governments.
This Administration will continue to aggressively use all levers of American power, including financial sanctions, to target terrorists who plot murderous operations to indiscriminately kill innocent civilians around the world, and those who enable, facilitate, and finance their heinous acts.
A list of State Department-designated individuals and entities is available here: https://www.state.gov/terrorist-designations-and-state-sponsors-of-terrorism.