Iraq's Ministry of Finance has circulated an internal directive notifying banks and affiliated institutions of US sanctions targeting entities linked to Lebanon's Hezbollah , according to an official document obtained by The New Arab .
The three-page document, dated 7 July and signed by Nadia Rashid Ali, director general of the ministry's Economic Department, states that the measure was issued under amended Executive Order 13224 on counterterrorism and anti-money laundering.
Although the directive has not been publicly announced by the Ministry of Finance or the Iraqi government, a ministry official confirmed to The New Arab that the document is authentic.
According to the document, the directive is based on two official letters issued by Iraq's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Americas Department on 30 June and by the Office of the Finance Minister in early July.
It says the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on three individuals and six entities in Europe, the Middle East and West Africa for facilitating financial transfers on behalf of the Islamic State group.
The US measures also covered a number of entities linked to Hezbollah under amended Executive Order 13224 on "counterterrorism", with the stated aim of targeting the group's financing and logistical support networks.
The circular, signed by Ali and Dhafer Mahdi Abdullah, head of the Iraqi Foreign Development Fund, was distributed to ministries, banks, authorities and companies affiliated with the Ministry of Finance "for review and to take the necessary action".
A political source close to Iraq's Coordination Framework, the country's largest Shia political alliance, also told The New Arab the document was genuine.
The source said the Ministry of Finance may not issue an official denial and suggested the timing of the leak was intended to strengthen ties with the United States, predicting it would spark criticism from factions aligned with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI).
The move echoes a similar controversy in December, when Iraq's official gazette published a measure relating to Yemen's Houthi movement that prompted strong objections from Iran-aligned Iraqi groups.
Former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani later ordered an urgent investigation, saying the committee responsible had acted on information received from international partners and attributing the incident to an employee's failure to properly review the decision.
He insisted at the time that his government had not designated either group as a terrorist organisation.
Later on Wednesday, the pro-Hezbollah Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported that Iraq's Ministry of Finance had issued a second circular cancelling the earlier directive.
The newspaper, citing no official statement, said the reported reversal reflected political backlash over Iraq's implementation of US sanctions during Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's visit to Washington, where he met US President Donald Trump.
The New Arab has not independently verified the existence of the reported cancellation circular, and Iraq's Ministry of Finance has not publicly commented.