U.S. Sanctions Iran For Crackdown, Says Russia Advising Tehran On How To Suppress Protests

The Biden Administration on Wednesday claimed that Russia might be advising Iran on how to suppress protests sparked by the custodial death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports from the White House.

Briefing the reporters, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the White House was "concerned that Moscow may be advising Iran on best practices to manage protests, drawing on... extensive experience in suppressing".

"Our message to Iran is very, very clear – stop killing your people and stop sending weapons to Russia to help kill Ukrainians," she said.

John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, also leveled a similar allegation but did not provide further details. "We see signs that they may be considering the ability to train. Sadly, Russia has experience," he added.

The move came as the Biden administration on Wednesday imposed a slew of additional sanctions against 10 Iranian officials involved in the ongoing crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran, including the commander of the IRGC.

"The United States is committed to working to promote justice and accountability for human rights violations and abuses in Iran," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Speaking to reporters at the State Department, Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson, said that Washington would continue to to find ways to support the people of Iran as they peacefully protest in defense of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in doing so, will continue to impose costs on individuals and entities in Iran who engage in the brutal repression of the Iranian people.

"We will continue to look at the tools at our disposal and take action to support the people of Iran as they peacefully protest for their human rights in the face of brutal repression," Patel said.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.