"State Sponsors of Terrorism" is a designation applied to countries that are alleged to have "repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism" per the United States Department of State. Inclusion on the list enables the United States government to impose four main types of unilateral sanctions:a restriction of foreign aid,a ban on weapons sales,heightened control over the export of dual-use equipment,and other miscellaneous economic sanctions. The State Department is required to maintain the list under section 1754(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019,section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act,and section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the U.S. Treasury Department. It administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions in support of U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives. Under Presidential national emergency powers,OFAC carries out its activities against foreign states as well as a variety of other organizations and individuals,like terrorist groups,deemed to be a threat to U.S. national security.
Iran and the United States have had no formal diplomatic relations since 7 April 1980. Instead,Pakistan serves as Iran's protecting power in the United States,while Switzerland serves as the United States' protecting power in Iran. Contacts are carried out through the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington,D.C.,and the US Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. In August 2018,Supreme Leader of Iran Ali Khamenei banned direct talks with the United States.
Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) is a designation for non-United States-based organizations deemed by the United States Secretary of State,in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (INA),to be involved in what US authorities define as terrorist activities. Most of the organizations on the list are Islamist extremist groups,nationalist/separatist groups,or Marxist militant groups.
United States sanctions are imposed against countries that violate the interests of the United States. Sanctions are used with the intent of damaging another country's economy in response to unfavorable policy or decisions. The United States has imposed two-thirds of the world's sanctions since the 1990s. Numerous American unilateral sanctions against various countries around the world have been criticized by different commentators. It has imposed economic sanctions on more than 20 countries since 1998.
The Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence is a position within the United States Department of the Treasury responsible for directing the Treasury's efforts to cut the lines of financial support for terrorists,fight financial crime,enforce economic sanctions against rogue nations,and combat the financial support of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Under Secretary is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
The United States has since 1979 applied various economic,trade,scientific and military sanctions against Iran. United States economic sanctions are administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC),an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury. Currently,United States sanctions against Iran include an embargo on dealings with the country by the United States,and a ban on selling aircraft and repair parts to Iranian aviation companies.
Stuart A. Levey was the first Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence within the United States Department of the Treasury. He was sworn in on July 21,2004 as a political appointee of President George W. Bush. President Barack Obama asked Levey to remain in his position and Levey was one of only a small number of Senate-confirmed Bush appointees who served in the Obama Administration. After leaving the government,Levey joined the private sector as chief legal officer of HSBC,CEO of Diem Association and chief legal officer of Oracle.
Rene Alexander Acosta is an American attorney and politician,who served as the 27th United States Secretary of Labor from 2017 to 2019. President Donald Trump nominated Acosta to be Labor Secretary on February 16,2017,and he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 27,2017.
The Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI),formed in 2004,is an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury. TFI works to reduce the use of the financial system for illicit activities by terrorists,money launderers,drug cartels,and other national security threats.
The United Arab Emirates has quite a close and friendly relationship with the US,being described as the United States' best counter-terrorism ally in the Gulf by Richard A. Clarke,the U.S. national security advisor and counter-terrorism expert. In terms of defense,the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces has been nicknamed "Little Sparta" by United States Armed Forces generals and former U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis for its active role against extremists in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates also hosts the only United States border preclearance in the Middle East.
Randal Keith Quarles is an American private equity investor and attorney who served as the first Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve for supervision from 2017 to 2021. He concurrently served as the chair of the Financial Stability Board from 2018 to 2021.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks,credit unions,securities firms,payday lenders,mortgage-servicing operations,foreclosure relief services,debt collectors,and other financial companies operating in the United States. Since its founding,the CFPB has used technology tools to monitor how financial entities used social media and algorithms to target consumers.
Jimmy Gurulé is an American attorney,academic and government official,who is a professor at Notre Dame Law School,teaching criminal law courses. He was the first Hispanic Assistant Attorney General in the United States.
Qatar has been accused of allowing terror financiers to operate within its borders,which has been one of the justifications for the Qatar diplomatic crisis that started in 2017 and ended in 2021. In 2014,David S. Cohen,then United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence,accused Qatari authorities of allowing financiers who were on international blacklists to live freely in the country:"There are U.S.- and UN-designated terrorist financiers in Qatar that have not been acted against under Qatari law." Accusations come from a wide variety of sources including intelligence reports,government officials,and journalists.
David Samuel Cohen is an American attorney who has served as deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) since January 20,2021,previously holding the position from February 9,2015 to January 20,2017. He served as acting director of the CIA from January 20 to March 19,2021 until the Senate confirmation of William J. Burns.
Marshall Billingslea is a former Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing at the United States Department of the Treasury. He was the Trump Administration's nominee to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs,and he previously served as a U.S. Senate staffer and as a Department of Defense official.
The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran,North Korea,and Russia. The bill was passed by the Senate on July 27,2017,98–2,after it passed the House 419–3. It was signed into law on August 2,2017 by President Donald Trump,who nevertheless believed that the legislation was "seriously flawed".
Morgan Deann Ortagus is an American television commentator,financial analyst,and political advisor who served as spokesperson for the United States Department of State from 2019 to 2021 during the Trump administration.
Hagar Hajjar Chemali is an American political satirist,writer,producer,television personality,and political commentator. Chemali has held senior national security and public affairs positions under the Barack Obama and George W. Bush administrations. She comments and writes on national security and foreign policy.
