The United States formally removed Syria from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, ending a designation that had remained in place since 1979 and clearing a major obstacle to foreign investment as the country attempts to rebuild after nearly 14 years of civil war.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio <a href="https://x.com/SecRubio/status/2091962663072899131">announced</a> Monday that he had formally rescinded Syria’s designation following the completion of a mandatory 45-day congressional notification period. The Treasury Department simultaneously <a href="https://ofac.treasury.gov/recent-actions/20260824">removed</a> Islamist paramilitary group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from its list of specially designated global terrorists. 
The decision marks a dramatic reversal in Washington’s relationship with Damascus following the fall of longtime Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Syria had originally been designated a state sponsor of terrorism in 1979 under Assad’s father, Hafez al-Assad, in large part because of the regime’s support for Palestinian militant organizations. 
“Rescinding Syria’s designation as an SST and HTS’ designation as an SDGT eliminates the final major barriers for private sector investment in Syria and promotes Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy,” Rubio wrote in his announcement on X.
With Syria&#8217;s removal, only three countries remain on the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list: Cuba, Iran, and North Korea. 
The State Department <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/08/rescission-of-syrias-designation-as-a-state-sponsor-of-terrorism/">said</a> the decision reflects actions taken by the government of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to distance itself from international terrorism. Over the past year, Syria has joined the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and conducted operations against ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and Iran-aligned groups, according to Rubio. 
The administration&#8217;s decision also follows President Donald Trump’s broader effort to dismantle the sanctions regime imposed on Syria during the Assad era. Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/providing-for-the-revocation-of-syria-sanctions/">executive order</a> in June 2025 directing the revocation of the Syria sanctions program, and formally initiated the process of removing Syria from the terrorism list in July.
The designation carried significant restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance, defense exports, and certain financial transactions. Its removal, therefore, gives international companies and financial institutions substantially greater ability to conduct business with Syria. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0612">said</a> the move would “help foster additional investment in Syria to promote political and economic stability.” That investment could be particularly significant as Syria faces the enormous task of rebuilding infrastructure destroyed during its civil war. In 2025, the World Bank <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2025/10/21/syria-s-post-conflict-reconstruction-costs-estimated-at-216-billion">estimated</a> the cost of Syria&#8217;s postwar reconstruction at roughly $216 billion.
Syrian officials have characterized the removal as a crucial step toward reconnecting the country with the international financial system. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani said before the announcement that lifting the designation would remove what he described as the “last obstacle” to investment and economic activity in Syria. 
The geopolitical stakes could extend beyond Syria&#8217;s economic recovery. Syria&#8217;s geographic position on the Mediterranean also gives it potential importance to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/world/middleeast/strait-hormuz-blockade-iran-war-syria-oil.html">regional energy and trade routes</a>, particularly as disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz continue to affect the movement of oil and gas.
Syria&#8217;s Mediterranean ports could eventually provide an alternative route for regional energy exports, although taking advantage of that opportunity would require substantial investment in roads, ports, utilities, and other infrastructure devastated during the war.
The move also represents a remarkable transformation for al-Sharaa himself. The Syrian president previously led HTS, which had been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States. Washington formally <a href="https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/07/revoking-the-foreign-terrorist-organization-designation-of-hayat-tahrir-al-sham">revoked</a> HTS&#8217; Foreign Terrorist Organization designation in July 2025 and has now removed its separate designation as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. 
Al-Sharaa led the rebel offensive that toppled Assad in December 2024 and subsequently moved to establish a new Syrian government. The Trump administration has increasingly engaged with him as a potential partner, with Trump meeting the Syrian leader and publicly supporting the country&#8217;s reintegration into the international community.

TURKEY-NATO-SUMMIT-DEFENCE

Trump Admin Makes Major Change To State Sponsor Of Terror List

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday launched “Operation Economic Outcast,” a campaign to cut Iran off from the global economy and punish governments, banks, and companies that continue doing business with Tehran.
The announcement comes roughly six months after President Donald Trump launched his military campaign against Iran, with Bessent saying the new economic offensive will target the financial networks and revenue streams that sustain the Iranian government, military, and security apparatus.
Bessent described the campaign as an “economic D-Day,” comparing it to the Allied invasion of Normandy during World War II, and warned that countries enabling Iran’s trade and financial activity will face U.S. sanctions.
“Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent said. “President Trump has taken action that his predecessors have long deferred, and under his leadership, America is no longer managing the Iranian threat; we are ending it.”
The campaign marks a significant escalation in Washington’s pressure on Tehran. Rather than focusing solely on Iranian entities, the administration is threatening the international banks, companies, and governments that help keep Iran connected to the global financial system.
Bessent said the Treasury has mapped the networks Iran uses to smuggle oil and evade sanctions and will pursue a “zero-leakage approach” to cutting off those channels. The administration is giving countries and entities a chance to shut down activities identified by Washington, but Bessent warned that the window will be short.
“No one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions,” Bessent said when asked whether Chinese banks could eventually be targeted. 
He declined to name specific institutions but said any bank or entity that facilitates transactions that turn Iranian oil into revenue for the regime could face sanctions.
The first round of measures targets five sectors Bessent called vital Iranian lifelines: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping. 
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is also sanctioning more than 60 entities, individuals, and vessels accused of helping Iran procure nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations, and generate oil revenue.
Bessent said every branch of Bank Melli, Iran’s largest commercial bank, should be “shuttered and dark” and warned that entities facilitating money laundering for Iran would be cut off from the U.S. dollar system.
Trump has been calling world leaders with specific requests to end their interactions with Tehran, Bessent said, while State Department and Treasury officials are following up with governments and entities to outline Washington’s expectations. He declined to identify the countries involved or give a specific deadline, saying the United States does not have “infinite patience.”
Bessent said a “wave of sanctions” would begin immediately and predicted a major announcement involving a financial institution by the end of the week.
He pointed to the United Arab Emirates as an early example of a country responding to the pressure. The UAE suspended all trade with Iran last week following new Iranian attacks on the Gulf country, which has faced hundreds of attacks since the war began.
Asked why the United States was not simply imposing the sanctions immediately, given his comparison to D-Day, Bessent said Washington did not want to “blow up the global financial system” and instead is giving countries and institutions a chance to remedy what the administration considers bad behavior before imposing secondary sanctions.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned Monday that Tehran will retaliate against President Trump&#8217;s “Economic D-Day” sanctions campaign, including potentially targeting countries that cooperate with Washington.
“Any escalation of this situation will undoubtedly bring about consequences,” Baghaei said. “Our hands are not tied.”

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‘Operation Economic Outcast’: Trump Admin Launches Economic D-Day Against Iran

Economy

Trump

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent fired a blistering shot across Iran’s bow, declaring that President Donald Trump is bringing the hammer down on the Islamic Republic once and for all.
Writing in the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/cb865200-1a06-40be-86a3-10ee2bb05804">Financial Times</a> on Sunday, Bessent wrote, “We are entering the endgame. At dawn begins an economic D-Day — the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary. “
Bessent, channeling WWII, compared the Trump administration’s economic strategy to the 1943 Tehran Conference where Allied leaders plotted the downfall of Nazi tyranny. But this time around, the target is Tehran.
“For 47 years, the Islamic republic of Iran has been a malignant force in the world,” Bessent declared. “Within Iran, a corrupt regime has consigned what would be one of the world’s strongest economies to ruin and its enterprising people to repression. Beyond its borders, the Iranian regime maintains a network of proxies that perpetuate its terror.”
Bessent then turned to the nations that have covertly or overtly supported the despotic Iranian regime.
&#8220;The regime’s final refuge now lies in the self-deception of fearful nations that still believe accommodating aggression can secure a durable peace,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Iran’s enablers purchase and transport its petroleum. They facilitate the flow of its finances through exchange houses and free trade zones. They welcome Iran’s flights and maintain registries on its behalf. They turn a blind eye to seaborne fuel transfers and the illicit use of their banks, all while concealing the extent of their complicity.. In short, these countries calculate appeasement of the regime to be the safer course. But they would do well to consider the consequences of sustaining it.&#8221;
Bessent invoked the 17th-century philosopher Blaise Pascal, whose famous wager stated that human reason cannot definitively settle the question of whether God exists. Pascal argued that humans should think like gamblers, weighing the relative costs and payoffs of believing versus not believing. He contended that if you bet on God and are right, you gain everything (infinity); if you bet on God and are wrong, you lose very little (a few finite pleasures or the time spent in worship); but if you bet against God and are wrong, you lose everything (infinite pain/loss), thus any rational person should choose to believe in God, because risking an infinite loss for a temporary, finite gain is a terrible bet.
Bessent said of Pascal, “He understood that uncertainty does not absolve men or nations of divine judgment. In fact, it demands a more exacting appraisal of risk and imposes a higher price for error. Pascal’s eponymous wager now applies to Iran’s lifelines. Nations that, in courting reprieve from Tehran, continue to replenish the very regime from which they seek protection — and now exceed the limits of America’s tolerance.”
Bessent shredded decades of weak-kneed Washington politicians, writing, “For decades, the political class accepted an endless cycle of provocation instead of advancing American interests. Not another generation should be condemned to the menace of fanatics who devote themselves to ‘death to America’ and fulfilling the regime’s nuclear ambitions.”
“Those who sever Iran’s remaining financial and commercial connectivity will reinvigorate their own,” he urged. “They will deepen their access to global capital, reinforce confidence in their markets and attain the standing they seek in the world economy.”
“The Islamic republic has subsisted by dressing extortion as security guarantees,” he continued. “ It has drawn strength from a calculus that regards Iranian retaliation as certain and American enforcement as negotiable. Under President Trump, that era is over. And those who fear the danger of defying Tehran ought not to discount the cost of testing Washington.”
He concluded, “Pascal considered salvation to be a choice. As a great wave of American resolve comes ashore, are Iran’s enablers willing to wager their future against it?”
Bessent’s warning is clear: the Trump administration is bringing the ultimate financial reckoning.

President Trump Meets With Lebanese President Joseph Aoun

‘We Are Entering The Endgame’: Trump Admin Sends Major Warning As ‘Economic D-Day’ Begins

Donald Trump

New court records show that the mother of Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed worked for an American-based Islamic charity later designated by the federal government as a terrorism supporter, after the organization was accused of financially supporting Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, and Hamas.
Fatten Fathy Elkomy, El-Sayed’s birth mother, worked for the Islamic American Relief Agency (IARA), also known as the Islamic African Relief Agency, from 1999 through at least 2004, according to records first reported by the <a href="https://www.themidwesterner.news/2026/08/docs-abdul-el-sayeds-mother-worked-for-designated-terror-group-iara-that-provided-direct-financial-support-to-osama-bin-laden-taliban-hamas">Midwesterner</a>. The Treasury Department designated IARA a global terrorist organization in October 2004.
The Treasury Department <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/js2026">accused</a> IARA’s international offices of providing “direct financial support” to bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and other terrorist organizations. 
The Treasury designation said IARA had been affiliated with Maktab al-Khidamat, an organization co-founded and financed by bin Laden that was a precursor to al-Qaeda. According to the department, IARA and bin Laden’s network had commingled funds and cooperated in fundraising and spending. An IARA program also worked with an institute controlled by bin Laden that provided assistance to Taliban fighters, Treasury said.
The department further said that information available to the U.S. government showed that overseas IARA branches provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to bin Laden in 1999. 
IARA&#8217;s American operation was later separately prosecuted by the Justice Department over illegal transfers to Iraq. In 2016, IARA-USA <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdmo/pr/iara-pleads-guilty-transferring-nearly-14-million-iraq-violation-sanctions?">pleaded guilty</a> to conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions and other offenses after secretly transferring $1.375 million to Iraq. 
Federal prosecutors said the organization had used its tax-exempt status to solicit donations while concealing prohibited transfers. The organization was subsequently dissolved. 
Several IARA officials and employees were also prosecuted. Executive Director Mubarak Hamed received nearly five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to illegally transfer more than $1 million to Iraq, obstructing tax laws, and lying to federal agents. Another top IARA fundraiser pleaded guilty to conspiring to lobby for the organization’s removal from a government list of charities suspected of terrorist ties. 
Elkomy was not charged in the federal case or named as a co-conspirator, and the court records cited here do not establish that she knowingly supported terrorism.
In a 2004 interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Elkomy defended her work for IARA, saying she was helping orphans and children who had lost a parent. 
“I’ve been working there serving orphans and children with at least one deceased parent, and it breaks my heart they’re not going to get any help,” Elkomy said at the time.
Court records from the subsequent IARA prosecution nevertheless reference Elkomy multiple times. According to the Midwesterner’s review of the government&#8217;s proposed exhibit list, her name appears in 14 exhibits, including records involving eight wire transfers and five recorded telephone calls between 1999 and 2002. 
One document concerned an IARA-USA request to transfer $24,607.34 to its Iraq office.
The revelation comes as El-Sayed, who narrowly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/abdul-el-sayed-secures-far-lefts-biggest-victory-yet-over-dem-establishment">won the Democratic nomination</a> for Michigan’s open Senate seat earlier this month, campaigns to become the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. He will face Republican Mike Rogers in November.
The newly uncovered records add to previously reported connections between El-Sayed’s family and organizations with documented ties to Islamist networks. His father-in-law, Tayeb Jukaku, <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/abdul-el-sayeds-father-in-law-a-top-donor-to-an-el-sayed-super-pac-is-among-top-leaders-of-muslim-brotherhood-organization-linked-to-terror-funding/">has served</a> on the founding committee of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) since at least 2007 and previously served as president of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Jukaku has also contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Fighting for Michigan PAC, a super PAC supporting El-Sayed. 
Both ISNA and CAIR were identified as unindicted co-conspirators in the federal Holy Land Foundation terrorism-financing case. Federal prosecutors claimed that the Holy Land Foundation funneled more than $12 million to Hamas, while a federal judge later found that the government had presented ample evidence connecting ISNA and CAIR to Hamas. 
The family connections come as El-Sayed has faced scrutiny over his own <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/abdul-el-sayed-dedicated-his-life-to-sharia-law">past statements </a>concerning Islam and Sharia law. As a 24-year-old medical student in 2009, El-Sayed told The New York Times that he had chosen a Sharia-compliant mortgage because he did not want to reach the end of his life having failed to follow Islamic law.
“Ultimately, the question is, when I die and I stand before God and go through everything I did in my life, I don’t want to say I did it the easy way instead of the Sharia-compliant way,” El-Sayed said at the time.
The Daily Wire reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign for comment but did not receive a response before publication.

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Abdul El-Sayed’s Mother Worked For Terror Group That Funded Bin Laden And Taliban

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The Trump administration is moving to claw back tens of millions of dollars in pandemic relief that went to celebrities, music artists, and entertainment industry elites.
The Small Business Administration announced Tuesday that it has referred $34 million in outstanding Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) debt to the Treasury Department, marking the first time the federal government has referred unresolved debt from the program to the Treasury for collection.
The move is part of a broader effort by SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler to recover pandemic-era funds that the agency says were improperly awarded or remain outstanding. 
“Under the Biden Administration, the SVOG program became one of the biggest cash-grabs of the pandemic,” Loeffler said in a statement first obtained by The Daily Wire. “For the last year, the Trump SBA has been working to recoup funds meant for struggling small arts and entertainment businesses that ended up lining the pockets of celebrities, music artists, and elite talent agents.”
“Today’s $34 million referral to the Treasury Department is only the first one,” she added, saying the agency will continue using “every lawful tool to claw back unmerited SVOG payments.”
The Treasury referral comes after recipients failed to resolve outstanding repayment obligations through the SBA’s debt-resolution process. The $34 million figure includes principal, applicable administrative costs, and accrued interest. The Biden administration never referred the outstanding SVOG debts to the Treasury for collection, according to the SBA.
The SVOG program was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide emergency assistance to live venue operators, promoters, theatrical producers, performing arts organizations, museums, movie theaters, and talent representatives whose businesses were affected by pandemic-related shutdowns and revenue losses.
Congress authorized $16.25 billion for the program, with individual applicants eligible for grants of up to $10 million. 
But the program ultimately became a source of millions of dollars in federal aid for some of the entertainment industry&#8217;s wealthiest names. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lil-wayne-chris-brown-covid-relief-funds-svog-grant-2024-12">Business Insider</a> previously reported that musicians including Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Marshmello, Steve Aoki, and members of Alice in Chains received millions of dollars through the program.
Lil Wayne&#8217;s touring company received an $8.9 million grant. Records reviewed by Business Insider showed that more than $1.3 million was spent on private-jet flights and more than $460,000 on clothing and accessories, while nearly $88,000 was charged to taxpayers for a concert the rapper did not ultimately perform.
Chris Brown&#8217;s touring company received $10 million, with approximately $5.1 million going to Brown personally. His company also charged nearly $80,000 to the grant for his birthday party.
Marshmello received $9.9 million, while Steve Aoki&#8217;s touring company received millions more. Business Insider reported that Aoki&#8217;s company used approximately $1.9 million of its grant for officer pay.
The program&#8217;s rules allowed recipients to spend grant money on a broad range of authorized business expenses, including payroll and owner compensation. That meant wealthy artists could qualify through corporate entities connected to their touring operations even if they personally possessed substantial assets, provided their businesses met the program&#8217;s eligibility requirements.
The grants were intended to help keep struggling businesses in the live entertainment industry afloat during the pandemic, when venues and performances were shut down across the country.
Instead, critics have pointed to instances in which large sums flowed to already wealthy entertainers and their business managers.
The SBA now says it is attempting to recover money it determined was improperly awarded or remains subject to repayment.
The agency began issuing rescission and demand letters to SVOG recipients in June 2025. Those recipients were given opportunities to appeal the agency&#8217;s determinations or enter repayment agreements before the SBA pursued additional collection measures.
The agency says it has recovered more than $50 million through voluntary and involuntary payments since the Trump administration began its recovery effort.
The SBA said additional referrals could follow as it continues reviewing outstanding awards and resolving recipients&#8217; repayment obligations. The SBA&#8217;s Office of Inspector General identified approximately $544 million in potentially improper SVOG payments. It also found that 2,590 awards worth approximately $4.8 billion remained open more than a year after they were supposed to have been closed out.
A separate 2025 inspector general report found that 1,080 SVOG grants remained open as of May 2025, meaning the agency had not yet fully accounted for how the funds were used. Roughly two-thirds of those recipients had either failed to submit required audits or failed to respond to questions about their use of the funds.
The program&#8217;s problems began almost immediately after Congress authorized the grants.
In 2021, amid pressure from lawmakers to get money out to struggling entertainment businesses as quickly as possible, the Biden administration directed SBA personnel to “presume applicant assertions to be true” and expedited the review of applications under $500,000. As many as two-thirds of approved applicants were reportedly on the Treasury Department&#8217;s Do Not Pay List. The SBA says its current effort is intended to restore accountability and ensure that pandemic-relief programs do not become a permanent loss for taxpayers.

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EXCLUSIVE: A-Listers Got $34 Million In COVID Relief, The Trump Admin Is Trying To Get It Back

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musician

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The federal government could soon own stakes in seven additional companies, bringing the total Trump administration portfolio of private companies to 30. 
The seven companies the administration is looking to take stakes in are part of the artificial intelligence supply chain and include GlobalFoundries, Kepler, Multibeam Corporation, Extropic, Thintronics, Obsidia Semiconductors, and Aeluma. The companies signed letters of intent, meaning additional negotiations need to take place before a deal is reached with the Commerce Department, the agency that will distribute the funds.
The seven new prospective deals would add to the federal government&#8217;s growing portfolio of equity stakes in private companies. Since taking office, the Trump administration has negotiated ownership stakes in companies spanning semiconductors, critical minerals, battery supply chains, energy, and advanced manufacturing.
The Trump administration’s equity stakes differ from those of past administrations, which would occasionally become a shareholder in private companies during periods of economic crisis.
During the 2008 financial crisis, the Bush administration launched the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which allowed the Treasury Department to inject capital into struggling financial institutions in exchange for preferred stock and warrants. General Motors was one of the largest beneficiaries of TARP, and during the Obama administration, the government took a 60.8% majority equity ownership stake in General Motors. The U.S. Treasury Department gradually sold its shares over the next few years, with the last shares sold in December 2013. Ultimately, the shares were sold at a <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jl2236">$10.5 billion</a> net loss. 
The Trump administration&#8217;s strategy differs from those interventions. Rather than taking a controlling stake to prevent the collapse of a company, the administration is acquiring minority, non-controlling ownership stakes in companies it views as strategically important to industrial policy and national security. The Trump administration also briefly considered taking a controlling stake in Spirit Airlines before ultimately deciding not to rescue the bankrupt airline. 
The majority of the government equity deals, 18 out of the 30, have been made possible by the Commerce Department, which administers the money through the CHIPS Act. The Trump administration&#8217;s policy represents an evolution from how the CHIPS Act was implemented under former President Joe Biden. 
The CHIPS Act gave the Commerce Department $39 billion to award to semiconductor companies through grants and other financial incentives. Under Biden, the Commerce Department primarily distributed grants, loans, and loan guarantees with opportunities for the department to claw back money if company project deadlines were not met.
The law also included clauses that allowed the federal government to share a portion of unexpected profits with taxpayers if projects substantially outperformed expectations. Recipients of the funds did not issue equity to the federal government. The Trump administration has retained the CHIPS funding program, but it changed the structure of some awards by negotiating non-controlling equity stakes. 
That structural change is being questioned in the courtroom. Intel shareholders <a href="https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/2449468/intel-lutnick-face-investor-suit-over-government-s-10-stake">sued</a> the company&#8217;s board and the Commerce Department for acquiring an equity stake, arguing that while the CHIPS Act authorizes Commerce to provide grants, loans, and loan guarantees, it does not authorize the department to take equity in private companies. The lawsuit contends that &#8220;nothing in the CHIPS Act contemplates the U.S. government acquiring an equity interest&#8221; in recipients. The case, pending in Delaware, could become the first judicial test of the Trump administration’s equity stakes.

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Trump Admin Eyes Government Stakes In 7 More Companies

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The Treasury Department <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0572">dropped the hammer</a> Thursday on a sprawling network of terror-supporting hypocrites, slapping heavy sanctions on Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas operators who hide behind fake charities and underground banks to fund violent extremism.
The Trump administration isn&#8217;t playing games. The Office of Foreign Assets Control exposed a senior U.K.-based Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood official, alongside three money-laundering operatives and three front organizations secretly fueling Hamas’s military wing.
“The Trump administration will relentlessly pursue terrorists and those who finance them,” warned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Whether operating under the guise of charities, businesses, or underground financial networks, those who enable Hamas will be exposed, sanctioned, and held accountable.”
Thursday&#8217;s action pulled back the curtain on how these terror networks exploit donors while funneling cash directly into violent ops. Mahmoud al-Abyari, secretary general of the Muslim Brotherhood General Secretariat, was exposed for managing ties with Hamas and helping raise cash for previously sanctioned terror-linked groups like Hayat Yolu.
Entities like Indonesia’s Tujah Bulah Global (operating under the alias Seven Spikes Global) and the Gaza-based Madad Palestine Charitable Society claimed to gather cash for needy civilians. Instead, the money was secretly diverted straight into the pockets of Hamas fighters. Turkey-based El-Kahira for General Trading, owned by Khuldun Khamis Zakaria Alden and operated with shareholders Zaid and Abdullah Al-Jebouri, moved hundreds of thousands for Hamas. The operation didn&#8217;t stop at terror. It also provided underground fiat and crypto banking to violent European organized crime groups like Sweden’s notorious Foxtrot Network.
This crackdown marks the latest salvo in an aggressive, ongoing push by the Treasury Department to relentlessly pursue Muslim terrorist entities and dismantle their global cash pipelines.
Thursday&#8217;s blitz builds directly on Treasury enforcement actions from earlier this year, including the <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0415">March 12 dragnet</a>, when Treasury targeted four bogus non-profits, including Türkiye-based Ghazi Destek Dernegi and Indonesia’s KNRP, and captured Hamas documents proving that they were secretly funneling cash, supplies, and construction materials exclusively to armed militants in Gaza.
On <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0368">January 21,</a> Feds exposed six Gaza-based front groups posing as medical clinics, including the Waed Society and Al-Nur Society, that were directly integrated into Hamas&#8217;s security apparatus. Treasury also sanctioned the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) and UK organizer Zaher Khaled Hassan Birawi for orchestrating political propaganda and Gaza-bound &#8220;flotillas&#8221; at the direct behest of terror bosses.

Lebanon President Heads To Washington For White House Talks

Treasury Department Busts Global Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas Terror-Financing Network

Muslim Brotherhood

The Treasury Department said Tuesday that it prevented nearly $100 million in welfare payments to dead people, thanks to new fraud prevention measures implemented by the Trump administration. 
Since March 2025, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department had identified 4,900 payments worth $99 million that were slated to go to dead people. The payments never went out because they were flagged for review after the department implemented new payment verification policies. 
“Treasury has delivered on a key promise of President Trump’s mandate to stop improper payments and fraud before money leaves the Treasury, and strengthen the integrity of the federal payment system,” Bessent <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0569">said</a> in a statement. “Together with Vice President Vance’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, this new safeguard addresses a longstanding vulnerability and helps ensure every dollar the federal government spends reaches its intended recipient.”
The payments were identified as the department screened 885 million payments worth about $2.77 trillion.
Bessent said the screening took place because the department has increased access to the Social Security Administration’s death master file, making it easier to identify deceased payees. He also pointed to the adoption of the Do Not Pay program, which <a href="https://fiscal.treasury.gov/payment-integrity/do-not-pay-dnp/about">requires</a> identity verification, eligibility confirmation, and bank account information before any payment is doled out. 
“Treasury will continue efforts to modernize the federal payment system, strengthen safeguards against fraud and improper payments, and protect taxpayer dollars,” Bessent said. 
In his first few months back in office, President Donald Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/">executive order</a> aimed at empowering the Treasury Department to identify fraud. Trump’s executive order noted that the Government Accountability Office estimates that the government loses between $233 and $521 billion every year in fraud. 
“This order promotes financial integrity by enabling the Department of the Treasury to more easily conduct improper payment and fraud prevention screening prior to disbursing funds on behalf of agencies,” Trump directed in March 2025. “This order increases transparency and accountability by requiring agencies to provide the Department of the Treasury with the information needed to track transactions through the General Fund in greater detail.”
The Trump administration has brought a strong emphasis on combating fraud with the White House creating a new task force under Vice President JD Vance focused on tackling the issue. The task force opened up an investigation in Ohio after The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-massive-anti-fraud-strike-force-lands-in-ohio?author=Luke+Rosiak&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump’s+Massive+Anti-Fraud+Strike+Force+Lands+In+Ohio">reported</a> on spurious entities being paid millions for so-called home health care services.

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The Shocking Payments To Dead People Trump Just Stopped

JD Vance

Welfare

The Daily Wire got a first look at the latest way the Trump Administration is commemorating America’s 250th birthday. The Treasury Department is unveiling a new $100 bill with President Trump’s signature. The previous $100 bill, remodeled in 2009, featured the Treasury Secretary’s signature and the Treasurer’s signature, but on the new bill, President Trump’s signature will replace the Treasurer&#8217;s.
The $100 bill itself is printed from start to finish at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C., one of only two facilities in the country capable of producing U.S. currency. The bureau&#8217;s sister facility in Fort Worth, Texas, serves as a backup printing operation, allowing the government to continue producing currency if one facility were ever taken offline. Together, the two plants can print up to $1 billion in currency per day.
Production begins with printing the reverse side of the note before Benjamin Franklin&#8217;s portrait is added. The bills are printed in large sheets, assigned unique serial numbers, cut into individual notes, counted into bundles, and packaged into shipments worth millions of dollars before entering circulation. The Daily Wire also viewed previous generations of the $100 bill dating back to 1928, highlighting the evolution of the note&#8217;s security features and design.
The $100 bill is the latest object Trump has labeled with his name. On July 4, he unveiled Trump Accounts, a tax-advantaged investment program for American children dawned with his surname. Earlier, he also placed his name on the John F. Kennedy Center after taking control of its board, renaming it the Donald J. Trump Center for the Performing Arts. A federal appeals court later ruled that only Congress had the power to rename an institution that was dedicated to a living memorial for President John F. Kennedy. 
The Trump branding predates his presidency. As a private citizen, Trump built an empire around his name, creating Trump Tower, Trump hotels, Trump Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, Trump Vodka, Trump Ice bottled water, Trump University, Trump Magazine, Trump mattresses, and dozens of other products and properties.

Money Pile $100 dollar bills

WATCH: How President Trump’s New $100 Bill Is Made

The U.S. Department of the Treasury <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0470">announced</a> Thursday that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will revise Form 990 to increase transparency and curb misconduct within tax-exempt organizations. The move specifically targets fiscal sponsorship arrangements, government grants, and contracts—mechanisms critics argue have been exploited by &#8220;dark money&#8221; networks to operate without public scrutiny.
“We are ending the days of hiding fraud, abuse, and extremist activity behind complicated nonprofit arrangements,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He warned that directors and officers of organizations misusing charitable structures would face increased &#8220;scrutiny, accountability, and liability under the law.&#8221;
The announcement comes amid intensifying investigations into prominent liberal networks like Tides and Arabella Advisors. The Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/same-game-different-name-radioactive-arabella-advisors-announces-rebrand-to-sunflower-services-as-prominent-donors-flee/">reported</a> in November 2025 that Arabella had rebranded its fiscal sponsorship arm as Sunflower Services “amid a series of high-profile investigations into its finances and billionaire Bill Gates&#8217;s decision to end a longstanding partnership with the organization.”
The Treasury’s focus on fiscal sponsorships—where a 501(c)(3) acts as an &#8220;umbrella&#8221; for projects without their own tax-exempt status—directly addresses concerns raised by the House Oversight Committee. Last month, Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said the Committee was “continuing to investigate reports the Sixteen Thirty Fund, Arabella Advisors (now operating as Sunflower Services), and others have worked to circumvent federal campaign finance disclosure requirements.”
Comer said his <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/release/comer-continues-to-investigate-dark-money-groups-efforts-to-evade-campaign-finance-laws/#:~:text=Comer%20Continues%20to%20Investigate%20Dark,Release%20Published%3A%20Mar%2020%2C%202026">letter</a> was “part of the House Oversight Committee’s larger effort to investigate powerful, dark money groups skirting campaign finance disclosure laws enforced by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) while obscuring the distinction between activities of legitimate journalists from campaign operatives. Online influencers invited to join the Chorus program reportedly receive up to $8,000 per month to amplify Democratic messaging online but must sign contracts enforcing strict secrecy and imposing limitations on the types of political content they can produce.”
The American Accountability Foundation (AAF) filed a formal <a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/NVF-IRS-Complaint.pdf">IRS complaint</a> in November 2025 alleging that the New Venture Fund (NVF), an Arabella-managed entity, engaged in improper &#8220;excess benefit transactions.&#8221; AAF wrote, “We have reason to believe that NVF has solicited hundreds of millions of dollars in donations from the public, a substantial portion of which have been diverted to NVF’s founder and other senior officers through an administrative services agreement with Arabella Advisors LLC (‘Arabella Advisors’), which was controlled by those same individuals. If so, NVF has engaged in improper excess benefit transactions by paying Arabella Advisors more than $200 million since 2006.”
The Treasury&#8217;s new reporting requirements aim to track where public money actually goes. NGO Monitor <a href="https://ngo-monitor.org/funder/tides-network/">reported</a> in March 2025, “Since 1976, Tides has ‘scaled more than 1400 social ventures, fueled social change in 120+ countries, and mobilized over $3 billion for impact.’ A number of these social ventures demonize Israel, promote antisemitic rhetoric, and lead BDS campaigns.”
“If an organization receives public funds,” said Acting IRS Chief Counsel Ken Kies, “it should be prepared to show who controls the money and where it goes.”

Treasury Department Announces IRS Overhaul To Target ‘Shadow’ Leftist Nonprofit Networks

Dark Money

Executive

Money In Politics

Tax-exempt organizations

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has officially launched “Operation Economic Fury,” a sweeping, aggressive campaign aimed at the total economic isolation of the Iranian regime.
Describing the measures as the &#8220;financial equivalent&#8221; of a military bombing campaign, Bessent signaled a return to a strict “maximum pressure” stance, targeting illicit oil networks, terror financiers, and global banks that continue to facilitate Tehran’s activities.
The announcement coincided with a <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0443">massive enforcement action</a> by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which sanctioned more than two dozen individuals, companies, and vessels. At the center of the crackdown is the multi-billion dollar petroleum empire of Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of the late senior Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani.
According to the Treasury, the Shamkhani network has enmeshed itself in the global shipping industry using a sophisticated web of front companies in the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, and India. These firms, including Oriel Group and House of Shipping, allegedly provided a “veneer of legitimacy” while managing a shadow fleet that generates billions of dollars for both the Iranian and Russian regimes.
“Treasury is moving aggressively with Economic Fury by targeting regime elites like the Shamkhani family that attempt to profit at the expense of the Iranian people,” Secretary Bessent stated.
The operation also took aim at a complex &#8220;oil-for-gold&#8221; scheme involving Lebanese Hizballah financier Seyed Naiemaei Badroddin Moosavi. In coordination with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Treasury revealed that Moosavi facilitated the smuggling of Iranian oil to the former Venezuelan regime under Nicolás Maduro in exchange for gold. This gold was then allegedly moved via Mahan Air to Hizballah members in Tehran before being laundered through Turkey.
In a move that will likely tighten global energy markets, Bessent confirmed that the United States will not renew the general licenses that allowed for the purchase of Iranian and Russian oil. These waivers, which allowed &#8220;oil on the water&#8221; prior to March 11 to reach its destination, are set to expire on April 19, 2026.
Bessent dismissed the need for further relief, arguing that the temporary measures intended to stabilize prices during recent regional conflicts have served their purpose. &#8220;All that oil has been used,&#8221; Bessent told reporters, signaling that the administration is no longer willing to tolerate leaks in the sanctions regime.
Perhaps the most significant escalation of Operation Economic Fury is the administration&#8217;s willingness to deploy secondary sanctions. These measures target third-party entities — such as foreign banks — that do business with sanctioned Iranian actors, effectively forcing them to choose between the Iranian market and access to the U.S. financial system.
Bessent revealed that the Treasury has already issued formal warnings to two major Chinese banks. Historically, China has purchased upwards of 90% of Iran’s exported oil.
&#8220;If we can prove that there is Iranian money flowing through your accounts, then we are willing to put on secondary sanctions,&#8221; Bessent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgDR6obU-CI">warned</a>. He noted that the U.S. is seeking deeper cooperation from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) neighbors to freeze the assets of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other leadership figures.
Addressing concerns from the shipping industry regarding the volatile Strait of Hormuz, Bessent discussed a potential U.S. government reinsurance program. Highlighting that insurance rates from Lloyd&#8217;s of London remain &#8220;skyrocketing,&#8221; he suggested the U.S. could provide a &#8220;normalized level&#8221; of insurance to encourage commercial traffic once the lanes are declared safe.
&#8220;Exactly,&#8221; Bessent replied when asked if this was an expansion of the war through economic rather than kinetic means. With over 1,000 entities sanctioned since the start of the current campaign, Operation Economic Fury marks the administration’s most decisive effort yet to bankrupt the Iranian state&#8217;s military and proxy capabilities.

White House daily press briefing

‘Operation Economic Fury’ Moves Against America’s Enemy Without A Single Shot

Global Politics

World

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on Thursday against four international nonprofit organizations identified as &#8220;sham charities&#8221; used to bankroll Hamas’s military wing.
The <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0415">action</a> targets three organizations based in Turkey — Ghazi Destek Dernegi (GDD), Hayat Yolu, and Palestinian White Hands — as well as the Indonesia-based Komite Nasional Untuk Rakyat Palestina (KNRP). Treasury officials allege these groups pose as humanitarian entities while covertly siphoning donations to the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas&#8217;s military apparatus.
According to Treasury investigators, these organizations leverage global networks to generate revenue for terrorist operations. Internal Hamas documents seized by authorities reportedly show that GDD collaborated with previously sanctioned entities to fund construction projects benefiting the group. Similarly, Palestinian White Hands was found to be integrated into the Hamas military security apparatus.
In Indonesia, KNRP is accused of coordinating directly with Hamas to distribute materials intended exclusively for fighters. Treasury also identified Hayat Yolu as an operational and financial hub for the Muslim Brotherhood.
“Hamas continues to finance its military wing by exploiting sham charities to support terrorist operations,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The Treasury Department will not allow Hamas to misuse the charitable sector for its violent aims.”
Today’s designations build on a series of recent actions aimed at dismantling Hamas’s financial infrastructure. Previous rounds of sanctions occurred on <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0368">January 21, 2026</a>, and <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0162">June 10, 2025</a>. Officials noted that Hamas frequently preys on the sympathies of international donors, redirecting funds intended for Palestinian civilians to prolong the regional conflict.
Hamas has been designated by the U.S. as a Foreign Terrorist Organization since 2001. Today’s enforcement was conducted under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing them with material support.
As a result of these sanctions, all property and interests belonging to these entities within the U.S. or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked. Americans are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with the designated groups. Foreign financial institutions that facilitate significant transactions for these groups risk losing access to the U.S. financial system.

Trump Admin Shuts Down Sham Charities Caught Bankrolling Hamas

U.S. Treasury Sanctions Four Sham Charities Linked to Hamas Financing

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