U.S. Sanctions Top Iranian Officials Over Rights Abuses, Censorship

Washington D.C./25.04.23/Turan:  The Biden administration took action on Monday against top Iranian officials for committing human rights abuses in the latest round of sanctions against Tehran over its crackdown on unrest in the country, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

The State Department imposes visa restrictions on 11 Iranian government officials, who are "believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, the abuse, detention or killing of peaceful protestors or inhibiting their rights to freedom of expression or peaceful assembly," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Nationwide unrest erupted last year after the brutal killing of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, by the morality police who enforce strict dress codes.

"The United States condemns Iran’s continued human rights abuses and remains committed to supporting the people of Iran as they face the brutality of the Iranian regime and demand respect for their fundamental freedoms," Blinken said in a statement.

The U.S. Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on four senior Iranian law enforcement and military officials involved in crushing protests.

All four officials are directly linked to the Islamic Republic's law enforcement forces and IRGC units that were implicated in the violent suppression of protests in Iran.

The Treasury also sanctioned the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, a U.S. designated entity.

"The Iranian people deserve freedom of expression without the threat of violent retaliation and censorship from those in power," Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement.

The move came just hours after the UK and the EU also announced fresh sanctions on Iranian officials for human rights violation.

"The U.S. will continue to coordinate with our allies and partners to promote accountability for the Iranian regime’s continued human rights abuses," Blinken said.

Alex Raufoglu