A US official acknowledged the laws and regulations adopted by Arab Gulf countries to counter terrorism. The State Department official told Asharq Al-Awsat that Gulf countries were achieving “major” progress in combating terror financing through a wide range of measures. He also noted that they have put on trial terrorists and their financiers. In 2017, the US and six Gulf countries established the Terrorist Financing Targeting Center that is aimed at building capabilities to target terror financing networks, continued the official. In October 2017 and May 2018, the center blacklisted terrorist enablers and financers, including individuals affiliated with the Hezbollah shura council, ISIS and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, he added. The State Department said that the Gulf countries have adopted laws that criminalize the financing of terrorism. These laws have been greatly effective in curbing terrorist activities.