The Trump administration has revoked the U.S. visa of Iraqi official Taif Sami Mohammed, who received the State Department’s International Women of Courage Award in 2022 but has since reportedly been added to the FBI’s terrorist watchlist amid allegations concerning Iranian-linked financing in Iraq.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
An Iraqi government official celebrated by the Biden administration in 2022 as one of the world’s most courageous women has had her U.S. visa revoked by the Trump State Department after reportedly being placed on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist.
Taif Sami Mohammed, who was serving as Iraq’s deputy finance minister and director general of the Budget Department when she received the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award, can no longer enter the United States, according to Fox News.
Mohammed is believed to currently be outside Iraq, according to the report.
The State Department confirmed that her visa was revoked this week, marking a sharp reversal from the recognition she received four years earlier from senior Biden administration officials.
“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,” Fox News reported.
Mohammed’s reported watchlist status and visa revocation were also highlighted in a social media post circulating Thursday.
The Trump administration is presenting the decision as part of a broader effort to deny entry to people it considers potential national security threats.
“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.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Rubio, suspected terrorists will never be allowed to remain in the United States.”
The development stands in sharp contrast to the U.S. government’s description of Mohammed when she received the International Women of Courage Award in 2022.
At the time, the State Department detailed Mohammed’s government career and credited her with fighting corruption inside Iraq’s financial system.
“Taif Sami Mohammed assumed the Deputy Finance Minister position in 2019 and simultaneously holds this position and Director General (DG) of the Budget Department. She has worked at the Ministry of Finance for approximately 36 years, starting initially as a budget analyst in 1985 and working her way up to Deputy Director General of the Budget Department in 2005, when she became the DG of the Budget Department,” the State Department said.
“A front-line leader against corrupt practices, Ms. Mohammed is known as the ‘Iron Woman.’ A political independent, Ms. Mohammed has been integral in preventing and deterring budget corruption in Iraq. Ms. Mohammed received a bachelor of economics from the University of Baghdad (1985). She also has a diploma from the Arab Planning Institute in Kuwait, focused on planning and development (1989-90).”
Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered similar praise during the 2022 recognition.
“Taif Sami Mohammed, Iraq’s deputy finance minister, director general of the budget department. Because of her persistent efforts to end corruption, she has earned the nickname ‘Iron Woman,’” Blinken said.
“Despite threats, she has stopped bribes, uncovered schemes to inflate payrolls and enrich corrupt officials, redirected significant resources back to programs that serve the Iraqi people.”
By 2025, however, Republican lawmakers were publicly pressing the U.S. government to take action against Mohammed over allegations involving Iranian influence and terrorist financing in Iraq.
Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., and Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., co-signed a letter concerning sanctions on Iraqi officials and institutions that specifically named Mohammed.
The lawmakers argued that Washington “should impose sanctions on Iraqi finance minister Taif Sami Mohammed, who is a key enabler of terrorist funding in Iraq yet was awarded with the International Women of Courage Award in 2022 by the Biden administration.”
The letter also identified several people the lawmakers described as Mohammed’s money-laundering associates.
Those statements were allegations made by the lawmakers and do not by themselves establish criminal wrongdoing by Mohammed.
Johnson said the situation subsequently advanced beyond congressional calls for sanctions and into a national security review that resulted in the State Department taking action against her immigration status.
He also highlighted the contrast between the Biden administration’s treatment of Mohammed in 2022 and the Trump administration’s decision four years later.
“In 2022, Anthony Blinken and Jill Biden celebrated Iraqi national Taif Sami Mohammed Al Shakarchi – personally presenting her with an award for advancing ‘gender equity,’” Johnson wrote in a separate post on X.
“Since, Ms. Mohammed was added to the FBI’s terror watchlist,” he continued.
“As a result, the Trump @StateDept took swift action to revoke her visa and ensure she is no longer in the United States.
“Under @POTUS and @SecRubio, we will never allow suspected terrorists to reside in our country.”
The information provided does not detail the specific evidence that resulted in Mohammed’s reported inclusion on the watchlist, and no criminal charge against her was identified in the material.
Her visa revocation nevertheless represents a striking change in the U.S. government’s posture toward an Iraqi official who only four years ago was publicly honored for what Washington described as extraordinary courage in confronting corruption.
In 2022, the Biden State Department portrayed Mohammed as Iraq’s “Iron Woman,” credited her with resisting bribery and protecting government resources and placed her among the recipients of one of its highest-profile international awards for women.
By 2025, Republican lawmakers were identifying her as an alleged facilitator of terrorist financing and urging punitive action.
Now, under President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the State Department says her U.S. visa has been revoked after her reported placement on the FBI terrorist watchlist, preventing her from entering the country that once formally celebrated her.
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