U.S. Targets Sudanese Finance Minister and Militia Over Iran Links

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions Friday on Sudan’s Finance Minister Gebreil Ibrahim Mohamed Fediel and the Al-Baraa Bin Malik Brigade (BBMB) for their role in Sudan’s civil war and for maintaining ties with Iran.

Officials said the measures are intended to curb Islamist influence in Sudan and disrupt Tehran’s destabilizing activities in the region.

“Sudanese Islamist groups have formed dangerous alliances with the Iranian regime. We will not stand by idly and allow them to threaten regional and global security,” said John K. Hurley, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Gebreil, who also leads the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), has deployed thousands of fighters against Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and met with Iranian officials in Tehran last year to strengthen political and economic cooperation. Meanwhile, BBMB, a militia rooted in Sudan’s former Islamist paramilitary forces, has fielded more than 20,000 fighters armed and trained by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Its fighters have been accused of torture, arbitrary arrests, and executions.

The designations were made under Executive Order 14098, which targets actors destabilizing Sudan and obstructing its democratic transition.

As a result, all property of Gebreil and BBMB in the U.S. or controlled by U.S. persons is blocked, and Americans are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. Financial institutions and third parties risk secondary sanctions for dealing with the designated entities.

The Treasury Department emphasized that the ultimate goal of sanctions is to change behavior: “The power of sanctions lies not just in designating bad actors, but also in removing them from the list once they demonstrate positive change.”