The State Department has increased the terror-related designation of four Islamic groups it has accused of attacking U.S. sites in Iraq.
This follows the government’s naming on Tuesday of more than a dozen people involved with facilitating secretive financial transactions on behalf of Iran to launder currency for the Iranian leadership.
The State Department said in a release Wednesday that the four terrorist groups it is closely monitoring are now labeled as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, a heightened level of scrutiny compared to their previous designation as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
The administration said the groups get direct support from the Iranian government to “plan, facilitate, or directly carry out attacks across Iraq.” The State Department said that includes attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and at military bases where U.S. and coalition forces are stationed.
The State Department said the action will help put pressure on the Iranian leadership to curb terrorist activities. It follows the directive of President Donald Trump in a national security memo issued in February. Trump proclaimed in the order that “Iran remains the world’s leading state sponsor of terror.”
The Treasury Department on Tuesday broadened its approach to Iran securing funding for terror campaigns, by naming more than a dozen people the government says have laundered money for Iran. They’re accused of using shadow accounts to shuffle money, including proceeds from the sale of Iranian oil, to hide sanctioned transactions from international banking investigators.
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