ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Former Iraqi Finance Minister Taif Sami on Friday denied being placed on the FBI’s terrorism watchlist or having her US visa revoked, state media reported, contradicting an earlier State Department statement.

Sami, in a statement published by Iraqi state media, "categorically" denied "what is being circulated regarding my inclusion on any US terrorism watch list or my classification within terrorism lists, and what is being said about my being barred from entering the United States is nothing more than political statements representing the positions of members of Congress."

Her statement came after the US State Department said it had revoked Sami’s visa after she was placed on the FBI's terrorism watchlist. It added that Sami was no longer in the US without saying when or why she was put on the watchlist.

Sami said that "what is being published in this regard is not based on any information or official documents issued by a competent authority."

She also said she will “take appropriate legal action in accordance with the law” against “any entity or person proven to have deliberately published false or misleading information” about her.

Initially, Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson told a US-based outlet that Sami’s visa was revoked this week. “Under President [Donald] Trump and Secretary [Marco] Rubio, suspected terrorists will never be allowed to remain in the United States,” he said.

Sami served as Iraq’s finance minister under former Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani before being replaced earlier in 2026 by Falih al-Sari.

The former minister was previously viewed positively by Washington, with the State Department awarding her its International Women of Courage Award in March 2022 under former President Joe Biden’s administration.

“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,” Johnson said.

Fox News reported that the department did not specify when Sami was placed on the watchlist or what intelligence led to her designation.

Sami’s office in late June denied reports that she had fled or been arrested during the early stages of a large-scale corruption crackdown by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.