The United States, UK, and European Union have imposed new sanctions against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over alleged human rights violations. The measures come after protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in custody after being arrested for allegedly breaching the country’s dress code for women. Western nations have targeted what they call a brutal crackdown against protests and demonstrations.
The UK has announced a travel ban and assets freeze on four individuals and the IRGC “in its entirety,” while the US Treasury Department has sanctioned four senior officials of Iran’s security forces. Brussels has also added eight individuals and mobile operator Ariantel to its sanctions list, accusing the telecoms firm of helping authorities track down protesters.
US sanctions targeted four senior officials of the Law Enforcement Forces of Iran and IRGC, “the primary Iranian security forces responsible for the regime’s brutal suppression of the protests that broke out in September 2022” after Amini’s arrest and death. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control also took action against Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace leader, taking aim at the authority overseeing cyberspace policy and the blocking of popular websites.
Washington’s latest sanctions involve blocking the US property of those targeted alongside their majority-owned entities, among other restrictions. The UK has come under repeated pressure from members of parliament to extend sanctions on the IRGC and proscribe it as a terrorist organization. More than 70 Iranian officials and entities have been made subject to UK asset freezes and travel bans since October last year.
The latest involve four commanders “under whose leadership IRGC forces have opened fire on unarmed protesters resulting in numerous deaths, including of children,” the foreign office said. They had also “arbitrarily detained and tortured protesters,” it added. “The Iranian regime is responsible for the brutal repression of the Iranian people and for exporting bloodshed around the world,” UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.
