U.S. authorities announced Wednesday the imposition of sanctions against a dozen senior Iranian officials and several entities in response to the «brutal repression» against demonstrators who have been protesting for more than a month and have killed hundreds of people.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement that it has imposed sanctions against ten other senior officials, including Revolutionary Guard commanders, governors and prison officials, among others.
In addition, it has included two «Iranian Intelligence actors and two entities related to measures to undermine digital freedom.» «Today’s actions come 40 days after 22-year-old Masha Amini died in police custody after being detained for breaching the Islamic dress code.
These sanctions come after the U.S. government announced last week another package of restrictions targeting several Iranian organizations and senior officials linked to the «violation of the fundamental rights of Iranian citizens.»
«These measures (…) show the commitment of the United States to support the Iranian people and their attempts to achieve justice, as well as their right to exchange information freely, including through the Internet,» the text states.
In this sense, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Brian E. Nelson, emphasized that Iranians «continue to protest courageously in the face of brutal repression and lack of access to the Internet» and stressed the importance of «achieving justice».
The list now includes Revolutionary Guard commanders Mohamad Kazemi and Abbas Nilforushan, the governor of Sistan and Baluchistan, Hosein Modarres Jiabani, Ahmad Shafa, commander of the Salman unit of the Revolutionary Guard, as well as Hedayat Farzadi, head of Evin prison, among others.
BLINKEN TRANSLATES HIS COMMITMENT TO THE IRANIAN PEOPLE Secretary of State Antony Blinken, for his part, recalled Amini’s death and extended his best wishes to his family members, while emphasizing the commitment of the United States to the Iranian people.
«We have announced joint action between the State and Treasury Departments to impose sanctions against individuals and entities, underscoring the commitment to use all available tools to bring justice,» he said.
In this regard, he said that senior officials who «hold high-ranking positions within the Iranian prison system» have been sanctioned and noted that the two sanctioned entities have been involved in acts of «censorship, surveillance and malicious cyber activity against the people.»
These are the Ravin Academy, an institute specializing in cybersecurity accused of «training hackers» in charge of «bringing down the communication networks of those who protest against the regime», and the company Samane GostarSahab Pardaz, which Blinken has accused of «working for the Iranian government in surveillance work» and «limiting access to social networks».
«The United States is committed to working to advance justice and address human rights violations and abuses in Iran. We will continue to find ways to support the Iranian people as they peacefully protest to defend their fundamental rights and freedoms,» he stressed before stressing that they «will continue to impose measures on individuals and entities in Iran that are implicated in acts of repression».
