Iraq's Olympics chief hit by new US sanctions targeting Iran-linked militias

Iraq's Olympics chief has been hit by new US sanctions announced on Thursday targeting Iraqi militias and individuals accused of close ties to Iran.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement on its website that it was "taking action against individuals and companies that assist the Iranian regime in evading U.S. sanctions, smuggling weapons, and engaging in widespread corruption in Iraq".

National Olympic Committee chief Aqeel Muftin Khafeef Al Baidani, and his brother Ali Muftin Khafeef Al Baidani, are accused by the US of allegedly owning and running a bank linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) - a group proscribed by Washington in 2019.

The US Treasury Department says the siblings, through their ties to senior Iranian officials, have generated and transferred funds to Iraqi militias linked to the IRGC, including Kataeb Hezbollah. The department accused the pair of laundering "tens of millions of dollars for Iran, and smuggling oil and drugs and abusing Aqeel Muftin’s position as president of Iraq’s National Olympic Committee to engage in corruption".

"We seek to dismantle the financing networks that enable these groups to operate. Successfully cutting off their financial flows is essential to protect American lives and our national security," said John Hurley, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

In addition to targeting the Muftin brothers and the Kataeb Hezbollah, the new US sanctions also target several banks and firms owned or run by already-sanctioned businessman Ali Muhammad Ghulam. The Muhandis General Company, which is active in agriculture, construction, and engineering, is also hit by the new US sanctions, with Washington accusing the firm of smuggling arms to and from Iran.

The new measures involve freezing assets held directly and indirectly in the United States, and prohibiting American individuals or entities from doing business with them. The ban also applies to foreign firms using the US dollar in their dealings with the sanctions targets.