U.S. Slaps Russia's FSB and Iran's IRGC With Sanctions

Washington D.C./28.04.23/Turan:  The Biden administration on Thursday announced first-ever sanctions targeting Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB and Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence branch, or IRGC-IO, for facilitating the wrongful detention of U.S. citizens, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"Today – and every day – our message to Russia, Iran, and the world is holding hostage or wrongfully detaining Americans is unacceptable. Release them immediately," President Joe Biden said in a statement.

The State Department sanctioned IRGC-IO for "its involvement in the wrongful detention of at least one U.S. national abroad". The FSB "has repeatedly been involved in the arrest, investigation, and detention of U.S. nationals wrongfully detained in Russia," Secretary of State Antony Blinken noted in a separate statement.

The Treasury Department also announced sanctions on the following individuals in Iran:

— Ruhollah Bazghandi, an IRGC-IO counterintelligence official;

— Mohammad Kazemi, IRGC-IO commander;

— Mohamad Mehdi Sayyari, IRGC-IO's co-deputy chief;

— Mohammad Hasan Mohagheghi, IRGC-IO's co-deputy chief

Sanctions are meant to change behavior and to incentivize better behavior and "we hope that these can contribute to doing that now and into the future,” said a senior administration official, who briefed reporters ahead of the public announcement on the condition of anonymity.

“These actors in Russia and Iran have tried to use Americans for political leverage or to seek concessions from the United States. These actions threaten the stability and integrity of the international political system. It also threatens the safety of U.S. nationals and other persons abroad,” the official added.

Blinken, in his turn, noted that the U.S. "will never stop" working to secure the release of its nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage and reunite them with their loved ones.

"Today’s actions are one tool furthering that cause, and we will continue to use all authorities at our disposal to bring our people home," he emphasized.

Alex Raufoglu