WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Treasury Department launched a rapid series of enforcement actions this past week, designating foreign groups and operatives as terrorist-linked, tightening pressure on Iran’s security apparatus and financial networks, and rolling out new measures aimed at what it called rampant government benefits fraud — a broad offensive officials framed as part of President Donald J. Trump’s national security and accountability agenda.
On January 13, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, working with the State Department, designated the Egyptian and Jordanian branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as Specially Designated Global Terrorists under Executive Order 13224, as amended. Treasury said the designations are aimed at cutting off the groups’ access to the U.S. financial system, alleging the branches provided material support to Hamas.
“The Treasury Department is taking action pursuant to President Trump’s leadership by designating Muslim Brotherhood Branches as Terrorist Organizations,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the announcement, describing the move as part of an effort to disrupt networks Treasury says support terrorism.
Treasury’s release said the actions are consistent with Executive Order 14362, issued November 24, 2025, which called for designating certain Muslim Brotherhood chapters as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Treasury’s statement alleged coordination between Hamas and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood in 2025 and described what it said were facilitation routes and fundraising channels connected to would-be fighters and transfers of money to Hamas.
In a parallel action, Treasury said the State Department designated the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood, also known as al-Jamaa al-Islamiyah, as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Treasury said the State Department also designated the group’s secretary general, Muhammad Fawzi Taqqosh, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
Treasury emphasized that the designations trigger asset-blocking rules in the United States and generally prohibit transactions by U.S. persons involving blocked property, while also warning that foreign financial institutions can face exposure for facilitating certain transactions tied to designated parties. Treasury said violations can carry civil or criminal penalties and that OFAC can impose civil penalties on a strict-liability basis.
Also on January 13, Bessent announced a set of initiatives focused on what Treasury described as billions of dollars in government benefits fraud in Minnesota, including notices of investigation to multiple money services businesses operating in the state and a Geographic Targeting Order requiring enhanced reporting of certain international transactions. Treasury said it issued an alert to financial institutions focused on fraud in federal child nutrition programs and held specialized training for law enforcement on using financial data in fraud investigations.
Treasury said the IRS initiated audits of financial institutions suspected of laundering fraud proceeds and announced creation of a task force to investigate alleged misuse of pandemic-era tax incentives and 501(c)(3) status. Bessent also held a roundtable with victims of the scheme and met with financial institutions, describing the effort as a template for broader action.
The department escalated pressure on Iran on January 15, when OFAC announced sanctions targeting what Treasury called senior Iranian officials tied to a violent crackdown on demonstrators and “shadow banking” networks that it said launder proceeds from petroleum and petrochemical sales. Treasury said the action was taken under multiple executive orders, including authorities tied to human rights abuses and sanctions aimed at Iran’s financial and energy sectors.
Treasury named Ali Larijani, identified in the release as the secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security, among those sanctioned, and said it also targeted 18 individuals and entities allegedly involved in laundering proceeds from Iranian petroleum and petrochemical sales. The department cited what it described as a “maximum economic pressure” campaign against sanctions evasion networks and said it sanctioned more than 875 persons, vessels and aircraft in 2025 as part of that effort.
On January 16, Treasury announced another OFAC action, designating 21 individuals and entities and identifying one vessel it said were involved in transferring oil products, procuring weapons and dual-use equipment, and providing financial services for Ansarallah — the Iran-backed group commonly known as the Houthis. Treasury said the designations target financial conduits between Iran and the Houthis, as well as facilitators and front companies in Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates that it said support revenue generation and smuggling.
Treasury described the action as building on prior steps taken after the State Department designated Ansarallah a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in February 2024 and later a Foreign Terrorist Organization in March 2025. The department said the Houthis generate more than $2 billion annually through illicit oil sales and alleged that Iran sells and provides a free monthly shipment of oil to the group using Iranian-owned or affiliated companies based in Dubai.
Across the actions, Treasury repeatedly said its aim is to sever access to money and logistics that sustain militant groups and hostile state actors, while tightening enforcement against domestic fraud schemes. The department also noted that sanctions are designed to change behavior and that OFAC can remove parties from the sanctions list consistent with the law.
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