OFAC Announces Terrorism, Iran Sanctions
The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a range of sanctions Oct. 22, designating Hizballah officials, the Iranian ambassador to Iraq and various Iranian entities for interfering in U.S. elections.
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The sanctions target two members of Hizballah’s Central Council: Nabil Qaouk and Hassan al-Baghdadi. OFAC said the council is responsible for electing the group’s highest decision-making body, the Shura Council. They also help implement Hizballah’s “destabilizing and violent agenda,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
The U.S. also designated Iraj Masjedi, a general in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and Iran's ambassador to Iraq, for acting on behalf of the IRGC-QF. Along with Masjedi, OFAC sanctioned three Iranian entities for 2020 election interference: the IRGC, the IRGC-QF and the Bayan Rasaneh Gostar Institute. Additionally, the U.S. sanctioned the Iranian Islamic Radio and Television Union and the International Union of Virtual Media for being owned or operated by the IRGC-QF.