Nabizada v. Blinken

District Court, District of Columbia·Decided August 26, 2026·No. Civil Action No. 2023-2906·Published

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

KAMALUDDIN NABIZADA, Plaintiff,

v. Civil Action No. 23-02906 (AHA)

MARCO RUBIO, in his official capacity as Secretary of the United States Department of State, et al., 1

Defendants.

Memorandum Opinion

Kamaluddin Nabizada sues the Secretary of State and other federal officials and agencies, asserting they violated the Administrative Procedure Act by adding him to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, which froze his U.S. assets, and by denying his petition to be removed from the list. The parties each move for summary judgment. The court grants the government’s motion and denies Nabizada’s motion. I. Background The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) authorizes the President to take certain actions upon declaring a national emergency, including imposing economic sanctions “to address significant foreign threats . . . to American national security, foreign policy, or the economy.” Learning Res., Inc. v. Trump, 607 U.S. 229, 237 (2026); see 50 U.S.C. §§ 1701, 1702(a)(1)(B). In 2001, relying on IEEPA and other authorities, President Bush issued an executive order declaring a national emergency to respond to the threat of terrorist attacks and

1 Secretary of State Marco Rubio is “automatically substituted” as the defendant. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d).

authorizing economic sanctions against people or groups identified in the order or who were in the future determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, to support terrorism as defined in the order. Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism, Exec. Order No. 13224, § 1(a)–(b) & app., 66 Fed. Reg. 49079, 49079, 49082 (Sep. 23, 2001). In 2019, President Trump amended the executive order to authorize the imposition of economic sanctions against people determined “to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of ” people or entities that are already subject to sanctions under the order. Modernizing Sanctions To Combat Terrorism, Exec. Order No. 13886, § 1, 84 Fed. Reg. 48041, 48042 (Sep. 9, 2019).

The Treasury Secretary has delegated the authority to determine who should be subject to sanctions under this and similar executive orders to the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”). 31 C.F.R. § 594.802. And OFAC has issued regulations to implement the sanctions regime authorized by the order. See Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 68 Fed. Reg. 34196, 34196–205 (June 6, 2003) (promulgating 50 federal regulations “to carry out the purposes of ” President Bush’s executive order). Among other things, these regulations provide that, when OFAC determines a person qualifies for sanctions under the executive order, it designates them as a “specially designated global terrorist.” 31 C.F.R. § 594.310; see also id. § 594.201(a). OFAC maintains a list of such people called the “Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (‘SDN List’).” Id. ch. V, app. A; see also id. § 501.807.

In May 2022, acting under these regulations, OFAC designated Nabizada for economic sanctions for materially supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (“IRGC- QF”), an organization already designated for sanctions for providing support to multiple terrorist

groups. ECF No. 40-1 at 3–4, 8–9; see Notice of OFAC Sanctions Actions, 87 Fed. Reg. 33305, 33308 (June 1, 2022). OFAC therefore added Nabizada to the SDN List and blocked his property interests in the United States. See ECF No. 40-1 at 7; Zevallos v. Obama, 793 F.3d 106, 110 (D.C. Cir. 2015) (explaining that someone added to the SDN List has “all their assets in the United States or under the control of any person who is in the United States . . . blocked, or effectively frozen” (cleaned up)). In an evidentiary memorandum accompanying its decision, OFAC stated Nabizada “has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the IRGC-QF.” See ECF 40-1 at 8–9. That memorandum contains classified materials and some unclassified information about Nabizada based on public reporting. See id. at 8–17. The Treasury Department also issued a press release announcing that it had designated Nabizada and others. Id. at 3–4. In addition to providing details about Nabizada based on the public reporting referenced in the evidentiary memorandum, the press release stated Nabizada assisted an IRGC-QF associate in arranging “the sale and transport of tens of thousands of tons of oil on behalf of senior IRGC-QF officials.” Id. at 4.

In October 2022, Nabizada petitioned OFAC to reconsider its decision to designate him and remove him from the SDN List. ECF No. 40-1 at 53–54; see 31 C.F.R. § 501.807 (allowing a designated person to “submit arguments or evidence that the person believes establishes that insufficient basis exists for the sanction or that the circumstances resulting in the sanction no longer apply” and “propose remedial steps . . . which the person believes would negate the basis for the sanction”). Without access to the classified information OFAC relied on to designate him, Nabizada’s petition challenged statements in the public press release and argued there was no basis for his designation. See ECF No. 40-2 at 14–28. And while that reconsideration petition was pending, Nabizada filed this suit. See ECF No. 1 ¶ 12.

In March 2024, OFAC denied Nabizada’s petition. See ECF No. 16 ¶ 66; ECF No. 17 ¶ 77.

The denial letter said that after “reviewing and carefully considering the evidence and other information available to OFAC, as well as the information and arguments provided by [Nabizada], OFAC has determined that [he] continues to meet the criteria for designation” and that Nabizada “has not provided credible arguments or evidence establishing that an insufficient basis exists for his designation or that the circumstances resulting in his designation no longer apply.” ECF No. 40-1 at 49. The letter further said OFAC “determined that [Nabizada] helped raise funds for the IRGC-QF through the sale and transport of tens of thousands of tons of oil on behalf of senior IRGC-QF officials” and “has been involved in price negotiation, contract execution, and the subsequent sale and shipment of Iranian oil, as well as the repatriation of millions of dollars to the IRGC.” Id. OFAC also provided a partially redacted, unclassified evidentiary memorandum addressing and rejecting Nabizada’s arguments, concluding he “still meets the original criteria for designation” because the information available to OFAC showed he had materially assisted, sponsored, or supported the IRGC-QF through oil-related business dealings with IRGC-QF associates, and thus recommending denying Nabizada’s petition. Id. at 60; see id. at 51–62; ECF No. 40-2 at 1–4.

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