OBAMA JUDGE UNDERMINES NORTH CAROLINA VOTER IDENTIFICATION
A federal judge who was appointed by Barack Obama just struck down voter ID in North Carolina, arbitrarily stating that it had "racist intent".
These people WANT voter fraud.
THE CHURCH MILITANT Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them". This Christian News Blog maintains a one stop resource of current news and reports of its own related to church, moral, spiritual, and related political issues, plus articles, and postings from other online discernment ministries, and media which share the aims to obey the biblical commands to shed light on and refute error, heresy, apostasy, cults, and spiritual abuse.
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“What Beltrami County is doing is denying refugees a chance at a better life,” said Omar. “Native Minnesotans blame the influx of Somalis for spikes in crime. Minnesota statistics released in July 2018 showed that incidents of violent crime including murder decreased compared to 2017, but rape and involuntary sex trafficking rose to the highest rate seen in almost a quarter-century.”So apparently Minnesotans aren’t allowed to try to provide a better life for themselves and their children. They must instead be wholly concerned with providing Muslim migrants a better life.“Omar sounds off after Minnesota county bans refugee resettlement – aided by Trump executive order,” by Danielle Wallace, Fox News, January 10, 2020 (thanks to the Geller Report):_________________________________________________________________After an executive order by President Trump made it possible, a northern Minnesota county on Tuesday night opted to ban the resettlement of refugees within its boundaries, becoming the first in the state and the second in the nation to do so.The vote at a crowded public meeting in Beltrami County, a sparsely inhabited area surrounding Red Lake, drew condemnation from many Minnesota Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.The move was viewed by many as a reaction to spiking crime in the state since large numbers of Somali refugees began arriving, according to reports. But supporters say it was simply an exercise of their rights, as facilitated by the president.“President Trump empowered counties to have a voice in the decision-making process for the federal refugee resettlement program,” state Rep. Matt Grossell, a Republican, told the Duluth News Tribune. “Tonight, Beltrami County exercised that option.”In a Twitter message Wednesday, Omar – who immigrated to Minnesota from Somalia as a teenager – saw the vote differently.“Over 20 years ago, the state of Minnesota welcomed my family with open arms. I never would’ve had the opportunities that led me to Congress had I been rejected,” Omar wrote. “What Beltrami County is doing is denying refugees a chance at a better life.”Omar fled Somalia with her family near the beginning of the country’s civil war in 1991 and lived in a Kenyan refugee camp for four years until immigrating to the U.S. in 1995.The Trump administration announced in November that resettlement agencies must get written consent from state and local officials in any jurisdiction where they want to help resettle refugees beyond June 2020. The order says the agencies were not working closely enough with local officials on resettling refugees and his administration acted to respect communities that believe they do not have the jobs or other resources to be able to take in refugees. Refugees have the right to move anywhere in the United States after their initial resettlement, but at their own expense.The vote drew applause from many of the crowd of more than 150 people present at the board chambers in Bemidji, Minn., which is about 140 miles northwest of Duluth. Native Minnesotans blame the influx of Somalis for spikes in crime.Minnesota statistics released in July 2018 showed that incidents of violent crime including murder decreased compared to 2017, but rape and involuntary sex trafficking rose to the highest rate seen in almost a quarter-century, The Duluth News Tribune reported, citing the state Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The report did not give a definitive reason for the spike….Ilhan Omar On the Warmongering Trump and the Killing Of Qassem Soleimani
BY HUGH FITZGERALDrepublished below in full unedited for informational, educational and researchpurposes:Many people – Americans, Europeans, Sunni Arabs — approved of the killing of Qassem Soleimani. Others did not, fearing an “escalation” or even a “war.” But even those Americans who disapproved of the targeted killing made sure to declare that Qassem Soleimani was a very bad man, responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands, including at least 600 American soldiers. There was one person, however, who stood out, not just for deploring the killing of Soleimani, but because she didn’t bother to state, as everyone else has, that Qassem Soleimani was a very bad man. Quite possibly she doesn’t think he was. Perhaps she sees him as a warrior for Islam. That person is Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. She has become known for the many inaccurate and outrageous things she has a habit of saying. We all remember when Ilhan Omar charged that the lobbying group AIPAC bought political support for Israel with donations (“it’s all about the benjamins, baby!”); she did not realize that AIPAC does not make any donations to politicians. She famously described the 9/11 attack as an event where “some people did something.” But she should also be remembered for what she has not said about Soleimani – that he was, at the time of his death, the most dangerous terrorist in the world, with many Americans among his victims, and was in the midst of planning other attacks on Omar’s fellow Americans. Everyone else thought it necessary to express that judgment, but not Ilhan Omar. She has yet to say a bad word about Soleimini, whom she neutrally described as a “foreign official.”This is what Omar said just after Soleiimani’s death was announced:Let’s not mince words: the assassination of Qassem Soleimani was an act of war undertaken without Congressional authorization, in violation of the Constitution of the United States of America,” said Omar in a statement, “Following the assassination, thousands of additional troops were sent to the Middle East in one of the largest rapid deployments seen in decades. This follows years of saber-rattling and threats of war against Iran by President Trump and his accomplices. We in Congress must exercise our Constitutional duty—and do everything in our power to stop another disastrous war.The word “assassination” — which Omar uses twice – suggests to many minds something nefarious, a political crime. Lincoln was assassinated. Kennedy was assassinated. Crazed killers assassinate. But in this case, the man who was killed, Qassem Soleimani, was a criminal, the world’s leading terrorist, who was in the last stages of a series of attacks planned against Americans. Ilhan Omar spoke about “years of saber-rattling and threats of war against Iran by President Trump.” What is she talking about? The “years of saber-rattling and threats of war” have come from Iran, for the last forty years, directed at America and Israel. How many thousands of “Death to America” demonstrations have been held, how many occasions when sinisterly smiling ayatollahs threatened to destroy the Great Satan? Trump has not been “saber-rattling,” but has relied on economic sanctions to constrain Iran. He has recently shown great patience with the Iranians. Perhaps Ilhan Omar did not notice that Trump held back from retaliating when the Iranians shot down two American drones. Did she not notice that he held back, too, when Iran attacked Saudi oil installations? Are those the signs of a saber-rattler, threatening war? When it came to Soleimani, however, there was clear intelligence about an “imminent” attack that could only be prevented by taking out Soleimani himself. Trump had no choice. Ilhan Omar, so contemptuous of Trump and those she describes with malice aforethought as his “accomplices” — in contradistinction to everyone else, including those who opposed the killing — had nothing to say about Soleimani, not even a laconic summary such as “Soleimani wasn’t a great guy.”Ilhan Omar was mad not because Trump’s action failed, but because it succeeded. First, the terrorist Soleimani was put permanently out of action. His plotting, scheming, murdering days are over, and he will not easily be replaced. Second, far from leading to “escalation,” much less to a “disastrous war,” as Ilhan claimed to fear, the Iranians understood that Trump was not like Jimmy Carter enduring the 444-day hostage crisis, and that they had better not test either Trump’s resolve, or his ability to inflict great damage on Iran. The Iranians huffed and puffed, but in the end, after all their threats, they only lobbed 20 missiles at two bases used by the Americans in Iraq. The Iranians gave the Iraqis a warning one hour before the attack was launched, knowing that it would be relayed to the Americans, giving our soldiers time to take cover in shelters. And the Iranians also made sure, it appears, that their missiles were far enough off the target so as not to actually hurt any Americans, while they could still be seen as doing something. Those attacks did not constitute an “escalation,” and as for that “disastrous war” Ilhan Omar warned about, it is less, not more likely, now that Qassem Soleimani has been killed. Had he lived, and gone through with the kind of attacks that the Americans feared were imminent, then there would have been a much greater likelihood of a major escalation. Trump has restored our deterrence. Now things have quieted down; Iran has had its innocuous retaliation, and defying Omar’s prediction, both the U.S. and Iran have toned down the rhetoric. Trump has made clear he does not want a military escalation, and has said he is now prepared to return to economic sanctions, tightened even further, as the most effective weapon against the Islamic Republic. But don’t expect Ilhan Omar to admit that Trump proved adept both at removing a mortal threat, and at containing the aftermath; her mind is made up: Trump is a saber-rattling islamophobic warmonger who needs to be stopped.Let’s remember Omar’s original tweet about the killing of Soleimani: “We are outraged the president would assassinate a foreign official, possibly setting off another war without Congressional authorization and has zero plan to deal with the consequences.” Soleimani is described innocuously as a “foreign official”; we are expected to overlook that he was no ordinary “official,” but a terrorist planning more murders; one commentator compared his killing to the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942. “Possibly setting off another war”? Didn’t Trump, rather, by his action make war far more unlikely, by making clear to Iran the new rules of the game? Trump, claimed Omar, has “zero plan to deal with the consequences.” It looks as if the President understood perfectly well that the “consequences” would be nothing more than a symbolic attack, because he knew he had clearly frightened the Iranians. And when the Iranian response came, it was clearly aimed at impressing the Iranian public, but at the same time, Iran attempted to limit or ideally, to avoid altogether, American casualties. Where’s that “escalation” Ilhan Omar worried about? Where, hysterical Ms. Ilhan Omar, is that “war”?
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SEE ALSO:
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2020/01/ilhan-omar-calls-soleimanis-death-an-assassination-of-a-foreign-official-and-slams-trumps-economic-sanctions




Because Jesus always judged cultural and biblical rules and laws using his principles of love and forgiveness, and rejected biblical rules that violated those principles, his followers are obligated to do the same. Those who say homosexual behavior is morally wrong in principle and should not be tolerated in the church must justify that judgment in terms of the principles of love and forgiveness. We cannot rely on St. Paul to do that for us in the 21st century. … St. Paul’s condemnation of homosexual behavior must be examined in light of Jesus’ principles as they apply in our culture, and not just blindly followed.
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My Transgender Daughter is a Beloved Child of God.
I am a lifelong Lutheran, a pastor's wife, a mom of three amazing kids. My firstborn child is named Rebekah. She is an excellent student with a deep love of learning. She is adored by her classmates and teachers. She's just as happy mountain biking and swimming in waterfalls as she is twirling in fancy dresses and performing on stage. She is strong and determined. She is a beloved child of God. She is ten years old, and she is transgender.


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Jihad Watch has frequently addressed concerns about Pope Francis and his efforts to ally with unsavory Islamic leaders and push for more Muslim migrants in the West. It is fortunate that not all Catholic leaders see eye to eye with the Pope.
For example, Cardinal Robert Sarah — prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments — compared “the modern influx of Muslim migrants to the invasions of barbarian tribes that ultimately brought down the Roman Empire in a.d. 475.” Sarah also issued a warning which contradicts the Pope. He cautioned that “it is a false exegesis [interpretation of scriptural text] to use the Word of God to promote migration. God never wanted these rifts.” But this is precisely what Pope Francis has been doing: acting as a blind guide in preaching that it is un-Christian to oppose mass Muslim migration into Europe. Meanwhile, the Vatican remains walled up, and the Pope remains surrounded by security.A prominent Italian intellectual has now kicked criticism of the Pope up a notch regarding his views about mass Muslim migration and much more. Marcello Pera, a non-believer and a “philosopher of science, former president of the Italian Senate, and close friend of Pope Benedict XVI,” asserted that the Pope “hates the West, he aspires to destroy it. … as he aspires to destroy the Christian tradition.”Given the globalist views of the Pope and his Islamic supremacist associates (which prompted Robert Spencer to refer to him as The Grand Sheikh Francis of al-Vatican), as well as his push for more Muslim migration, Pera makes a compelling case.“Time for Pope Francis and the Vatican to wake up about Islam,” by William Kilpatrick, Lifesite News, January 7, 2020:January 7, 2019 (The Catholic Thing) — In comments last year, Marcello Pera, a prominent Italian intellectual and non-believer, criticized Pope Francis for “openly going against tradition, doctrine, and introducing inexplicable innovations, behaviors and gestures.”A philosopher of science, former president of the Italian Senate, and close friend of Pope Benedict XVI, Pera asserted that Francis had turned Catholicism into “a Church so outgoing that it can no longer be found anywhere.”In an earlier 2017 interview with Il Mattino, Pera was even more outspoken. In answer to a question about “indiscriminate” welcoming of migrants to Europe, he replied: “Frankly, I do not get this pope, whatever he says is beyond any rational understanding. It’s evident to all that an indiscriminate welcoming is not possible: there is a critical point that can’t be reached.”He continued: “If the pope … insists in a massive and total welcoming, I ask myself: why does he say it? … Why does he lack a minimum of realism, that very little that is requested of anyone? The answer I can give myself is only one: The Pope does it because he hates the West, he aspires to destroy it. … As he aspires to destroy the Christian tradition.”Two years ago, most Catholics would have found that hard to swallow. But now, the idea that Pope Francis hates the West is beginning to seem plausible. It would explain much of what he says and does — his criticism of capitalism and colonialism, Amazonian initiative and, above all, encouragement of mass Muslim migration into Europe.Does he also aspire to destroy the Christian tradition? Well, he rarely misses an opportunity to criticize traditional Catholics. At the same time, he seems intent on introducing exotic and decidedly non-traditional practices into the life of the Church.The key word, of course, is “aspires.” Does Francis consciously desire to “destroy” the West and traditional Christianity (aka Christianity)? Or is he simply a well-intentioned do-gooder who doesn’t understand the consequences of his experiments?That’s a serious question, but it’s unnecessary to know the answer in order to raise a related question: Whatever the intention, do his policies and programs actually tend toward the destruction of the West and of Christianity?I would say, “Yes, they do.” And I would argue, as Professor Pera does, that they “lack a minimum of realism.” Future historians may well look back upon our era as the Age of Unreality. And many in the Church have embraced this unreality as though it were a newly revealed Gospel.Some Church leaders have been flirting with the idea of same-sex marriage, and some seem willing to believe that females can transition to males and males to females. Others, including the pope himself, seem to believe in the fantasy idea that the lot of the poor can be improved by getting rid of fossil-fuels — which may be the reason that they have also revived the fantasy of the Noble Savage. Because, minus the benefits of electric power, much of the world will be quickly reduced to a primitive level. In which case, we may all find ourselves praying to Pachamama and the rain gods for a good harvest.The most dangerous fantasy, however, is the one that Church leaders have created about Islam. We are told that it’s a religion of peace, that it shares much common ground with Christianity, that Muslims venerate Jesus just as Catholics do, that terrorism has nothing to do with Islam, and that the slaughter of Christians by Muslims can be attributed to a tiny minority who “misunderstand” their religion.At the same time, we are taught that “Islamophobia” — an irrational fear of Islam — is a far greater danger than Islamic aggression.Pera’s point is that these supposedly “irrational” fears are actually quite reasonable. He is mainly concerned with the fantasy that Europe can successfully absorb millions of Muslim migrants who don’t want to assimilate….
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Action coincides with President’s Executive Order expanding authorities to target additional sources of revenue used by the Iranian regimeWASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against eight senior Iranian regime officials who have advanced the regime’s destabilizing objectives, as well as the largest steel, aluminum, copper, and iron manufacturers in Iran, who collectively generate billions of dollars annually. Treasury’s action includes the designations of Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council; Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the Deputy Chief of Staff of Iranian armed forces; and Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of the Basij militia of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). In addition, Treasury designated 17 Iranian metals producers and mining companies; a network of three China- and Seychelles-based entities; and a vessel involved in the purchase, sale, and transfer of Iranian metals products, as well as in the provision of critical metals production components to Iranian metal producers.Concurrently with today’s designations, the President is signing a new Executive Order (E.O.) that targets additional sources of revenue used by the Iranian regime to fund and support its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism and terrorist proxy networks, and malign regional influence. Specifically, this E.O. authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to impose sanctions against persons operating in or transacting with additional sectors of the Iranian economy, including construction, mining, manufacturing, and textiles.“The United States is targeting senior Iranian officials for their involvement and complicity in Tuesday’s ballistic missile strikes,” said Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “We are also designating Iran’s largest metals manufacturers, and imposing sanctions on new sectors of the Iranian economy including construction, manufacturing, and mining. These sanctions will continue until the regime stops the funding of global terrorism and commits to never having nuclear weapons.”FOREIGN PURCHASERS AND TRANSPORTERS OF IRANIAN STEEL, AND PROVIDERS OF CRITICAL MATERIALS NEEDED FOR IRANIAN METAL PRODUCTION
Since August 2019, Beijing-based trading company Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd. has purchased tens of thousands of metric tons of steel slabs on a monthly basis from Iran’s Esfahan Mobarakeh Steel Company.During 2019, Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd. has sold multiple consignments of carbon blocks, cathode blocks, and graphite electrodes to Iranian minerals trading firm Khalagh Tadbir Pars Co. for shipment to Iran and use by Iranian metals producers. Since August 2019, Khalagh Tadbir Pars Co. has purchased materials including carbon blocks and cathode blocks from Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd. for ultimate end-use by the Iran Aluminum Company.Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd. has also facilitated Khalagh Tadbir Pars Co.’s purchase of materials such as cathodes from Chinese manufacturers. Additionally, in November 2019, Khalagh Tadbir Pars Co. and Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd. coordinated the sale of Iranian copper concentrates to a Chinese purchaser.Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd. is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13871 for having knowingly engaged, on or after the date of the E.O. 13871, in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of iron, iron products, aluminum, aluminum products, steel, steel products, copper, or copper products from Iran, as well as for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or service in support of Khalagh Tadbir Pars Co.Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd. uses Power Anchor Limited, located in the Seychelles, as a front company to obfuscate the true Iranian end-user for metals-related materials shipped to Iran. Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd. has also used Power Anchor Limited to facilitate payments from Iranian steel companies for purchases of graphite electrodes used in metal production brokered by Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd. Power Anchor Limited is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13871 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd.In September 2019, the vessel Hong Xun transported steel slabs purchased by Pamchel Trading Beijing Co. Ltd. from Esfahan Mobarakeh Steel Company from Bandar Abbas, Iran, to China. Hongyuan Marine Co. Ltd., located in Zhejian, China, is the registered owner of the vessel Hong Xun, as well as the vessel’s Ship Manager/Commercial Manager. Hongyuan Marine Co. Ltd. is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13871 for having knowingly engaged, on or after the date of E.O. 13871, in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of iron, iron products, aluminum, aluminum products, steel, steel products, copper, or copper products from Iran through its vessel, Hon Xun. OFAC is also identifying the Hong Xun as blocked property in which Hongyuan Marine Co. Ltd. has an interest.IRANIAN IRON AND STEEL COMPANIES AND OMAN-BASED SUPPLIER
Today’s action targets the 13 largest steel and iron manufacturers in Iran, who collectively generate billions in sales annually.Mobarakeh Steel Company is the biggest steel producer in the Middle East and the biggest direct reduced iron producer in the world. Mobarakeh Steel Company produces more than 50 percent of Iran’s steel in all major markets. OFAC previously designated Mobarakeh Steel Company in October 2018 pursuant to E.O. 13224, a counterterrorism authority, for providing material support to Mehr Eqtesead Iranian Investment Company, an IRGC-affiliated entity.In addition to Mobarakeh, OFAC is designating Saba Steel, Hormozgan Steel Company, Esfahan Steel Company, Oxin Steel Company, Khorasan Steel Company, South Kaveh Steel Company, Iran Alloy Steel Company, Golgohar Mining and Industrial Company, Chadormalu Mining and Industrial Company, Arfa Iron and Steel Company, Khouzestan Steel Company, and Iranian Ghadir Iron & Steel Co pursuant to E.O. 13871 for operating in the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sectors of Iran.OFAC is also designating Oman-based Reputable Trading Source LLC, which is owned or controlled by, or has acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Khouzestan Steel Company. Reputable Trading Source LLC was incorporated to provide and supply the spare parts, equipment, and raw material that is required by steel companies, and further engages in marketing and exporting steel products from Iran.IRANIAN ALUMINUM AND COPPER COMPANIES
OFAC is also taking action against the top companies operating in the Iranian aluminum and copper sectors.Iran Aluminum Company was established as the first producer of aluminum bricks in Iran, and accounts for approximately 75 percent of the country’s total aluminum production volume. Also designated today is Al-Mahdi Aluminum Corporation, a top producer of aluminum in Iran, and National Iranian Copper Industries, the leading copper producer in the Middle East and North Africa region. Khalagh Tadbir Pars Co. is a minerals trading firm that deals in iron ore, copper concentrate, alumina, and aluminum.Iran Aluminum Company, Al-Mahdi Aluminum Corporation, National Iranian Copper Industries, and Khalagh Tadbir Pars Co. are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13871 for operating in the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sectors of Iran.ALI SHAMKHANI AND GHOLAMREZA SOLEIMANI
OFAC is designating Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), who was appointed by the Supreme Leader in September 2013 as one of his representatives to the SNSC. Ali Shamkhani, an IRGC admiral, is currently the secretary of the SNSC, which determines the country’s security and defense policies and coordinates political, intelligence, social, and economic activities in accordance with the Supreme Leader’s guidelines.As the head of the SNCS, Ali Shamkhani plays a key role in implementation of the Supreme Leader’s domestic and foreign policies.Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani was appointed by the Supreme Leader on July 2, 2019 as the Commander of the Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary force subordinate to IRGC. Among other malign activities, the IRGC’s Basij militia recruits, trains, and deploys child soldiers to fight in IRGC-fueled conflicts across the region.MOHSEN REZA’I AND MOHAMMAD REZA NAQDI
Mohsen Reza’i is a longtime member of Iran’s Expediency Council and was appointed by the Supreme Leader. The Expediency Council provides guidance to the Supreme Leader on all manner of policy. Reza’i is a former IRGC commander who is suspected of involvement in the 1994 terrorist attack against the AMIA Jewish community in Argentina, resulting in the deaths of 85 people. Reza’i remains wanted by Argentina and has an active international arrest warrant through Interpol.Mohammad Reza Naqdi was appointed by the Supreme Leader as the Deputy Coordinator of the IRGC in May 2019. Naqdi is the former Commander of the Basij, as well as a former head of the Basij intelligence unit who was responsible for the interrogation of those arrested during the post-election crackdown in 2009. In this role, he extracted forced confessions from high-ranking reformist leaders broadcast on Iranian state-run television. As a result of his actions in the aftermath of the 2009 protests, Naqdi was previously designated by Treasury in 2011 pursuant to E.O. 13553, a human rights authority.MOHAMMAD REZA ASHTIANI AND ALI ABDOLLAHI
Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and Ali Abdollahi are senior Iranian military appointees of the Supreme Leader. Ashtiani was appointed by the Supreme Leader as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian armed forces in July 2019, while IRGC Brigadier General Abdollahi was appointed the Coordination Deputy for the Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) in July 2016. Abdollahi is a former Deputy Commander of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces. OFAC previously designated the AFGS and its chief, IRGC General Mohammed Bagheri, pursuant to E.O. 13876 in November 2019.Ali Shamkhani, Gholamreza Soleimani, Mohsen Reza’i, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani and Ali Abdollahi are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13876 for being persons appointed to a position as a state official of Iran by the Supreme Leader.ALI ASGHAR HEJAZI AND MOHSEN QOMI
Ali Asghar Hejazi is a senior official within the Supreme Leader’s Office in charge of security. Hejazi also maintains close links to the IRGC’s Qods Force. Hejazi was previously designated in May 2013 pursuant to E.O. 13553, a human rights authority, for supporting the commission of serious human rights abuses in Iran on or after June 12, 2009, as well as for providing material support to the IRGC and Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).Mohsen Qomi, a Deputy Advisor for International Affairs in the Supreme Leader’s Office and an advisor to the Supreme Leader on International Communications, has represented the Supreme Leader on official international visits.Hejazi and Qomi are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13876 for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Supreme Leader.SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS
All property and interests in property of these persons that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all dealings by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked or designated persons.In addition, persons that engage in certain transactions with the persons designated today may themselves be exposed to sanctions. Furthermore, any foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates a significant transaction for or on behalf of the persons designated today could be subject to U.S. correspondent or payable-through account sanctions.
