U.S. Department
of Justice
Global Counterterrorism Programs
Background
OPDAT’s Global Counterterrorism (CT) Programs provide expert assistance to foreign countries across the globe to support the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and adjudication of terrorism and terrorism financing cases. Funded by the Department of State’s Bureau of Counterterrorism (DOS/CT), OPDAT’s Global CT Programs combat active threats of terrorism and terrorism financing that threaten United States persons and interests. OPDAT, with its extensive expertise and breadth of resources within the Department of Justice and combined deep knowledge of foreign legal systems, is uniquely positioned to provide timely and effective legal and technical assistance to foreign justice sector and other officials that will make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.
OPDAT’s Global CT Initiatives Program also complement the focused work of its DOS/CT-funded Resident Legal Advisors (RLAs) assigned to Embassies in Asia, Africa, the Western Hemisphere, and Europe who design and implement programs to combat terrorism and terrorism finance threats in those regions. RLAs spearhead investigative and prosecutive efforts in foreign countries that advance U.S. national security objectives.
Global CT Programs
Countering Iran and its Proxies
Worldwide attacks against the interests and security of the U.S. and its allies and the impact of geopolitical changes in the Middle East have focused an international spotlight on efforts to counter Iran and its proxies’ criminal and terrorist activities. In partnership with DOS/CT, OPDAT leads an international diplomatic and law enforcement program to increase awareness and implement international and
regional meetings and forums aimed to combat Iran and its proxies’ criminal and destabilizing activities by, among other things, increasing international cooperation and building political support for coordinated and strategic action against them. In total, OPDAT and DOS/CT have hosted 24 bilateral, regional, and global working-level meetings throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Western Hemisphere, reaching over 600 participants from 35 countries.
Through this program, OPDAT annually convenes a global Law Enforcement Coordination Group (LECG) meeting to address Hizballah’s global threat, a global Counter Transnational Terrorism Forum (CTTF) meeting focused on countering Iranian and its proxies’ terrorist activities, and up to two regional sub-LECG or CTTF meetings to address these threats. These programs directly meet the goals of National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-2 which states that U.S. policy is “that the IRGC and its surrogates be disrupted, degraded, or denied access to the resources that sustain their destabilizing activities.” The sub-regional meetings have been held for Africa and Western Hemisphere countries.
The LECG, established in 2014, is an annual forum during which law enforcement officials, financial and counterterrorism practitioners, and criminal justice actors from over 30 countries exchange information about Hizballah terrorist and criminal activities in their regions, and discuss specific actions they have taken to counter Hizballah’s activities. It is the only global forum in which countries share law enforcement and prosecution information on investigations in order to counter Hizballah’s criminal and terrorist activities. OPDAT and DOS/CT convened the 14th meeting of the LECG in July 2025, during which 82 delegates from 29 countries exchanged information on Hizballah activities in their territories through prosecution case studies, country reports, and financial intelligence updates.
The CTTF brings together partner states to counter terrorist activities by Iranian government entities—including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS)—and their proxies, including Hamas, Hizballah, and the Houthis. The CTTF convenes counterterrorism practitioners from dozens of countries to examine recent terrorist and criminal activities of Iranian-sponsored terrorists and their networks and provides a multilateral platform to share information and best practices on countering terrorist threats posed by Iranian-sponsored terrorism. The 3rd CTTF was held in October 2024 with 55 foreign participants from 31 countries. The 4th CTTF is scheduled for early 2026 and expected to draw over 70 foreign participants.
The LECG and CTTF have resulted in, among other things, increased information sharing and technical cooperation amongst nations states to fight Iran and its proxies, as well as providing support to, and the impetus for, partner states to move forward with terrorist designations of Hizballah and other Iranian proxies.
The Battlefield Evidence Rapid Response Team
DOS/CT, the U.S. Department of Justice National Security Division Counterterrorism Section (CTS), and OPDAT have partnered to create the Battlefield Evidence Rapid Response Team (BERRT). Upon receiving requests for DOJ assistance, OPDAT and CTS collaborate with partner countries, using DOS/CT funds as needed, as those partner countries prepare to repatriate, investigate, and prosecute their nationals who joined ISIS and now remain in custody in Syria. Collaboration focuses on the use of battlefield evidence, also known as collected exploitable material (CEM), in investigations and prosecutions.
Battlefield evidence encompasses a wide range of materials and information gathered from conflict zones, including physical objects, documents, digital data, and witness accounts. Examples of battlefield evidence include cellphones, laptops, thumb drives, photos, fingerprints, DNA samples, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) components, and other materials that are recovered, collected or received by military forces during their operations. Although these items are collected primarily for military purposes such as intelligence, force protection, and targeting, they may later serve as crucial evidence in terrorism prosecutions in civilian courts. In addition to the military, in some cases, multilateral entities that operate in conflict zones have also collected information and materials that may be valuable in terrorism investigations.
Repatriating battle-hardened, radicalized terrorists is daunting for countries with concerns about security risks and holding returnees accountable for crimes committed in support of ISIS. One reason some countries have been reluctant to repatriate their nationals is due to capability or capacity concerns, namely their unfamiliarity in acquiring and using battlefield evidence to investigate and prosecute returnees. BERRT was created to help address these capability and capacity concerns, through training workshops and case-based assistance, among other things. By training countries to use battlefield evidence to effectively investigate and prosecute returnees, BERRT encourages increased and expedited repatriations of third-party nationals to their countries of origin, advancing the critical goal of preventing an ISIS resurgence in Syria and the greater region, and further guaranteeing the safety and security of the homeland and U.S. interests abroad.
BERRT consists of a full-time experienced DOJ prosecutor at OPDAT serving as its Legal Advisor, along with subject-matter expert CTS attorneys, as needed, to address international partners’ capability and capacity gaps in repatriating, investigating, and prosecuting their nationals from Syria. BERRT assistance available to foreign partners can include, among other things, assistance in submitting comprehensive search requests for CEM, case-based assistance on investigative and prosecutorial issues, and in-person or virtual training on the use of battlefield evidence and best practices in investigating and prosecuting returning foreign terrorist fighters.
Global Counterterrorism Rapid Response Fund
The Global Counterterrorism Rapid Response Fund (RRF) is a unique tool that allows OPDAT to provide nimble, specialized, and responsive support to countries experiencing acute terrorist challenges. Through the RRF, OPDAT can quickly deploy experienced federal prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement/investigative experts to address pressing counterterrorism issues with a targeted, low-cost approach to skills transfer to foreign partners. RRF engagement activities are designed to safeguard U.S. interests and security by increasing our overseas partners’ ability to prevent, investigate, and prosecute terrorism and terrorism financing cases before they affect U.S. interests. Prominent examples of RRF-funded programs include: (1) a trade-based money laundering workshop for Western Hemisphere countries to combat criminal and terrorist financing by TCOs and FTOs; (2) counterterrorism programs to address cyberterrorism and how to handle major counterterrorism investigations; and (3) a regional Western Hemisphere conference on countering the movement of known or suspected terrorists seeking to enter the United States illegally through South and Central America.