Joint action: US Treasury and Bahrain counter Iran-linked Al-Ashtar Brigades facilitators

On Tuesday, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) coordinated with the Kingdom of Bahrain against Iran-based operatives and a financial facilitator for the designated group Al-Ashtar Brigades. 

In 2018, the Department of State selected Al-Ashtar Brigades as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

 "Today's action, taken in coordination with the Kingdom of Bahrain, underscores our collective commitment to disrupting Iran's destabilizing forces and threats, particularly those which threaten our partners in the region and around the world," stated Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.

According to a press release posted on the Department of the Treasury's website, the current designation emphasizes the role that the Iranian regime is playing in supporting the Al-Ashtar Brigades. 

"In 2018, the government of Bahrain charged numerous individuals due to terrorism-related activities. A number of these individuals fled Bahrain to evade prison sentences and settled in Iran, which has long supported and continues to serve as a safe haven for terrorist groups," it added.

These persons are being selected under Executive Order (EO) 13224, which targets terrorist groups and their supporters.

The release added that Hussein Ahmad ‘Abdallah Ahmad Hussein Al-Dammami, Ali Abdulnabi Ahmed Ebrahim M Alshofa, Hasan Ahmed Radhi Husain Sarhan, and Isa Saleh Isa Mohamed Salman have materially assisted or provided financial, material, or technological support for Al-Ashtar Brigades, "a person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to EO 13224."