US revokes visa of former Iraqi Finance Minister Sayf Sami

WASHINGTON, United States — WASHINGTON — The US State Department has revoked the visa of former Iraqi Finance Minister Sayf Sami, a State Department official confirmed to Fox News. Dylan Johnson, the State Department's Assistant Secretary for Global Public Affairs, said the decision was made and also criticized the previous Biden administration for awarding Sami a visa, according to the Fox News report. Johnson said the Trump administration is continuing efforts to revoke visas of individuals it considers threats to the United States and to block their entry into the country. Fox News reported that Sami is believed to be in exile, has been added to a US terrorism watch list, and is now barred from entering the United States. Republican Representatives Joe Wilson and Greg Steube had previously accused the former Iraqi finance minister of facilitating the financing of terrorism through Iraq's financial system. The visa revocation comes amid growing pressure over the monitoring of money flows and the banking system in Iraq, and US allegations that Iran-linked actors have benefited from that system.