United States Department of State list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations

Identification of candidates

The Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism (CT) of the United States Department of State continually monitors the activities of groups active around the world to identify targets for the "terrorist" designation. When reviewing potential targets, S/CT looks at the actual attacks that a group has carried out, as well as whether the group has engaged in planning and preparations for possible future acts of violence or retains the capability and intent to carry out such acts.

Designation process

Once a target is identified, the Bureau of Counterterrorism and Countering Violent Extremism prepares a detailed "administrative record", which is a compilation of information, typically including both classified and open sources information, demonstrating that the statutory criteria for designation have been satisfied. If the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, decides to make the designation, the United States Congress is notified of the Secretary's intent to designate the organization and given seven days to review the designation, as the INA requires. Upon the expiration of the seven-day waiting period, notice of the designation is published in the Federal Register, at which point the designation takes effect. An organization designated as an FTO may seek judicial review of the designation in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit not later than 30 days after the designation is published in the Federal Register.

Under the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, the FTO may file a petition for revocation two years after the designation date (or in the case of redesignated FTOs, its most recent redesignation date) or two years after the determination date on its most recent petition for revocation. In order to provide a basis for revocation, the petitioning FTO must provide evidence that the circumstances forming the basis for the designation are sufficiently different as to warrant revocation. If no such review has been conducted during a five-year period with respect to a designation, then the Secretary of State is required to review the designation to determine whether revocation would be appropriate.

The procedural requirements for designating an organization as an FTO also apply to any redesignation of that organization. The Secretary of State may revoke a designation or redesignation at any time upon a finding that the circumstances that were the basis for the designation or redesignation have changed in such a manner as to warrant revocation, or that the national security of the United States warrants a revocation. The same procedural requirements apply to revocations made by the Secretary of State as apply to designations or redesignations. A designation may also be revoked by an Act of Congress, or set aside by a Court order.

Legal criteria for designation

(Reflecting Amendments to Section 219 of the INA in the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act)

• It must be a foreign organization.
• The organization must engage in terrorist activity, as defined in section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1182(a) (3)(B)),* or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. § 2656f(d) (2)),** or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism.
• The organization's terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.

Legal ramifications of designation

• It is unlawful for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide "material support or resources" to a designated FTO. (The term "material support or resources" is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(b) as "currency or monetary instruments or financial securities, financial services, lodging, training, expert advice or assistance, safehouses, false documentation or identification, communications equipment, facilities, weapons, lethal substances, explosives, personnel, transportation, and other physical assets, except medicine or religious materials.")
• Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances, removable from the United States (see 8 U.S.C. §§ 1182 (a)(3)(B)(i)(IV)-(V), 1227 (a)(1)(A)).
• Any U.S. financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which a designated FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Other effects of designation

The U.S. Department of State lists the following items as additional considered beneficial effects of designation:

• Supports efforts to curb terrorism financing and to encourage other nations to do the same.
• Stigmatizes and isolates designated terrorist organizations internationally.
• Deters donations or contributions to and economic transactions with named organizations.
• Heightens public awareness and knowledge of terrorist organizations.
• Signals to other governments U.S. concern about named organizations.

Official designation of a group as a Foreign Terrorist Organization also triggers more robust means of combat under the Authorization for Use of Military Force act enacted in 2001, which is still in force today.

Groups designated as FTOs

the following organizations are designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations:

Delisted FTOs

The following groups have been removed from the Department of State's list as of July 2025, most due to having been disbanded and thus being no longer active.

Controversies

The MEK had been designated a "foreign terrorist organization" in 1997 in order to improve relations with Tehran and then president Mohammad Khatami.

In November 2013, the State Department listed the Nigerian terrorist organization Boko Haram as an FTO. In 2014, Republican members of Congress criticized the State Department for not designating the group as an FTO earlier.

In August 2014, the Christian Science Monitor reported that U.S. military was coordinating with Kurdish forces in Iraq, including elements of the PKK, seemingly in violation of the ban on assistance to a designated FTO.

References

References

1. Bureau of Counterterrorism. (May 14, 2014). "Individuals and Entities Designated by the State Department Under E.O. 13224". U.S. State Department.
2. Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism. (April 10, 2014). "Foreign Terrorist Organizations". U.S. State Department.
3. Zarate, Juan C.. (2013). "Treasury's War". PublicAffairs.
4. Office of the Spokesman. (Sep 1, 2010). "Foreign Terrorist Organization Designation". US Department of State.
5. Lindsey Boerma. (May 9, 2014). "Hillary Clinton's Handling of Boko Haram: Are Critics Justified?". CBS News.
6. "Foreign Terrorist Organizations".
7. (2018-04-03). "US designates Hafiz Saeed's MML as LeT affiliate in FTO list - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune.
8. Office of the Spokesperson. (December 11, 2012). "State Dept. on Designation of Al-Nusrah Front as Terrorist Group". U.S. State Department.
9. (May 5, 2011). "Designation of Army of Islam". State.gov.
10. (2019-04-08). "Revolutionary Guard Corps: US labels Iran force as terrorists - BBC News". BBC.
11. (20 January 2025). "Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists". White House.
12. (20 February 2025). "Terrorist Designations of International Cartels". U.S. Department of State.
13. (19 Feb 2025). "A look at the 8 Latin American crime groups designated as terrorist organizations by the US".
14. (February 20, 2025). "America is Back — and President Trump is Just Getting Started".
15. Samuels, Brett. (22 January 2025). "Trump redesignates Houthis as foreign terrorist organization". The Hill.
16. (4 March 2025). "Designation of Ansarallah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization". U.S. Department of State.
17. (2 May 2025). "Terrorist Designations of Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif". U.S. Department of State.
18. (August 11, 2025). "Terrorist Designation of The Majeed Brigade".
19. [https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/09/terrorist-designations-of-los-choneros-and-los-lobos/ Terrorist Designations of Los Choneros and Los Lobos]. United States Department of State.
20. (5 September 2025). "US designates 2 more gangs in Latin America as foreign terrorist groups". AP News.
21. [https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/09/terrorist-designations-of-iran-aligned-militia-groups/ Terrorist Designations of Iran-Aligned Militia Groups]. United States Department of State.
22. [https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/09/terrorist-designation-of-barrio-18/ Terrorist Designation of Barrio 18]. United States Department of State.
23. [https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/11/terrorist-designations-of-cartel-de-los-soles Terrorist Designation of Cartel de los Soles]. United States Department of State.
24. [https://www.state.gov/releases/2025/12/terrorist-designations-of-clan-del-golfo/ Terrorist Designations of Clan del Golfo]. United States Department of State.
25. "Revoking the Foreign Terrorist Organization Designation of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham".
26. (October 9, 1997). "U.S. Designates 30 Groups as Terrorists". Los Angeles Times.
27. Shane, Scott. (21 September 2012). "Iranian Group M.E.K. Wins Removal From U.S. Terrorist List". The New York Times.
28. Manshour Varasteh. (2013). "Understanding Iran's National Security Doctrine". Troubador Publishers.
29. Scott Shane. (September 21, 2012). "Iranian Opposition Group Wins Removal from US Terrorist List". [[The New York Times]].
30. Glenn Kessler. (May 19, 2014). "Boko Haram: Inside the State Department debate over the 'terrorist' label". Washington Post.
31. Dan Murphy. (August 15, 2014). "Are the US, France, and UK lining up to support the 'terrorist' PKK in Iraq?". Christian Science Monitor.