WASHINGTON: The United States revoked former Iraqi finance minister Taif Sami Mohammed’s visa after officials said the FBI added her to a terrorism watchlist, marking a sharp reversal from Washington’s earlier praise.
A State Department official confirmed the visa action to Fox News Digital on August 28. Separately, Asharq Al-Awsat reported that the department said Mohammed had left the United States. Before officials revoked her visa.
The department did not publicly disclose why authorities placed her on the watchlist. Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson said the Trump administration would bar people it considers national-security threats.
His comments came under President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The action contrasts with Mohammed’s treatment under the Biden administration.
In March 2022, the State Department awarded her its International Women of Courage Award while she served as Iraq’s deputy finance minister and director general of the budget department.
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Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised Mohammed for fighting corruption despite threats. He said she had stopped bribes and uncovered schemes involving inflated payrolls and corrupt officials.
Mohammed later became Iraq’s finance minister. Meanwhile, U.S. Republican lawmakers Greg Steube and Joe Wilson pressed the Trump administration.
To take tougher action against Iranian-backed financial and militia networks in Iraq. Their public statements reflected broader concerns over Iran-aligned groups operating within Iraqi institutions.
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Her legal troubles also expanded in Iraq. Iraqi News reported on August 9, 2026, that a Baghdad court summoned Mohammed and placed her on a judicial wanted list as part of a widening corruption investigation. She was believed to be outside Iraq, and the report stressed that the inquiry did not establish wrongdoing.
