Biden-honored Iraqi official lands on US terror watchlist as Trump State Dept revokes visa

FIRST ON FOX: Four years ago, Taif Sami Mohammed was being celebrated by the United States as one of the world’s most courageous women. Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the senior Iraqi official as the country’s “Iron Woman,” crediting her with stopping bribes, uncovering schemes that enriched corrupt officials and fighting corruption despite threats against her.

Today, Mohammed is believed to be outside Iraq, on the U.S. terrorist watchlist and can no longer enter the United States.

A State Department official told Fox News Digital that the department revoked Mohammed’s visa this week, marking a dramatic reversal for an official who received one of the Biden administration’s highest-profile awards for women in 2022.

“While the Biden State Department shamefully celebrated and awarded foreigners who threaten our nation, the Trump State Department revokes their visas and ensures these individuals are removed from our country,” Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson told Fox News Digital.

The investigation grew out of a broader corruption probe involving government contracts and large sums of public money and has reached other former Iraqi officials, according to the report.

Mohammed’s placement on the U.S. terrorist watchlist represents a separate and potentially more serious development. The State Department has not said whether it is connected to the terrorist financing allegations raised by members of Congress, the Iraqi corruption investigation or other intelligence gathered by the U.S. government.