In less than two weeks, we have seen Syria go from one of the most heavily sanctioned countries on the planet to a country well on the road to establishing normal trade relations with the Western world. The latest flurry of developments started on May 13, 2025, when President Trump caught much of the world by surprise when he said in a speech in Riyadh: “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria…
On March 4, 2025, the US Department of State announced the redesignation of Ansarallah (a political movement and militia group in Yemen also known as the Houthis) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (“FTO”). The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) separately designated seven high-ranking members of Ansarallah as Specially Designated Nationals (“SDNs”) for smuggling weapons into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and negotiating weapons procurement from Russia. In addition, OFAC designated…
Shortly after taking the oath of office today, newly inaugurated President Trump signed a flurry of Executive Orders (“EOs”) and other executive actions. This include several actions related to US sanctions and export controls. Authority to Designate Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations or Specially Designated Global Terrorists Trump signed an EO Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. This EO creates a legal authority to designate certain international…
On April 8, 2019, the Trump administration escalated pressure on Iran by announcing its plan to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (“IRGC”) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (“FTO”) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The designation marks the first time the United States has branded a foreign government military entity a terrorist group. In retaliation, Iran designated US forces in the Middle East as a terrorist group.