The U.S. State Department’s designation this week of four Iran-aligned militia groups (IAMGs) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) is a decisive and welcome move in the ongoing campaign to confront Iran’s malign influence in the Middle East.

Harakat al-Nujaba, Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya, and Kata’ib al-Imam Ali have long operated as proxies of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), threatening American forces, interests, and allies across Iraq, Syria, and beyond. These groups have American blood on their hands, from deadly drone strikes like the one in Jordan that killed three U.S. service members, to attacks on our bases and diplomatic facilities.

By officially labeling these militias as FTOs, the U.S. is cutting off their access to the global financial system, increasing the cost of doing Iran’s dirty work, and warning foreign entities that supporting them carries real consequences, including secondary sanctions.

This is a strategic win that isolates Tehran’s proxies, strengthens deterrence, and aligns U.S. policy with the reality on the ground: that these groups are instruments of Iranian terror.

It’s past time to stop treating Iran’s network of armed proxies as anything less than what they are: extensions of the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism. This move was absolutely essential, and to be applauded.