Miad Maleki

Miad Maleki is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). He previously worked as a senior U.S. sanctions strategist and national security leader and is now recognized as having designed and implemented some of the most consequential sanctions campaigns at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As associate director for the Treasury’s Office of Global Targeting at the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), he oversaw financial sanctions and investigations across more than 35 sanctions programs, leveraging executive orders and legislative authorities to counter threats to U.S. and global security.

Miad played a central role in marshalling the Treasury Department’s sanctions campaigns against the Iranian regime and its extensive network of proxy groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas, Iraqi Shiite militias, and the Houthis. His efforts were instrumental in disrupting financial flows to the Iranian regime and its malign actors, degrading terrorist and paramilitary operations, and strengthening the integrity of the global financial system.

Previously, Miad served as the assistant director for counterterrorism, nonproliferation, and Middle East sanctions at OFAC’s, leading enforcement strategies targeting terrorist financing, proliferation networks, corruption, and human rights abuses. He also served as chief and senior sanctions coordinator for Iran and the Middle East, representing the Treasury Department in multilateral forums on anti-money laundering and counterterrorist financing, and coordinating policy priorities at the National Security Council.

A U.S. Air Force veteran, Miad holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of South Florida. He now advises on sanctions, compliance, and financial crime risk, helping institutions and clients navigate complex regulatory landscapes.