On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions on 12 Iranian officials and two civil institutions, against the backdrop of their participation in the ongoing campaign of repression against popular protests following the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini.
“40 days after the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, Iranians continue to protest bravely in the face of brutal crackdown and disruption of internet access,” Brian Nelson, Treasury Under Secretary for Financial Intelligence, said in a statement.
“The United States is imposing new sanctions on Iranian officials who oversee organizations involved in violent repression and killing of people, including children, as part of our commitment to hold the Iranian government at all levels to account for its repression,” he added.
The ministry said it was taking this action “in response to the ongoing brutal suppression of protests across Iran,” as well as ongoing government efforts to restrict internet access in the country, according to the statement.
The statement stated that the new sanctions list included the commander of the intelligence service of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Muhammad Kazemi, and the deputy commander of operations in the Revolutionary Guards, Abbas Nilforoshan.
The list also includes Hossein Modres Khyabani, the governor of the Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, “who witnessed repeated bloody campaigns of repression by government forces,” and Ahmed Shafahi, commander of the regional military unit of the Revolutionary Guards, according to the statement.
The sanctions included 4 senior prison officials, in addition to the head of “Evin” prison and the warden of “Sanandaj” central prison in the northern region of Iraq.
The sanctions also included two officials in the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, along with the school they co-founded to “train students in cybersecurity, hacking, and student recruitment,” according to a US Treasury statement.
Sanctions were also imposed on the private Samaneh Gostar Sahab Pardaz, which the Treasury Department said is “one of the main operators of social media filtering services in Iran.”
Today, several regions in the Iranian capital, Tehran, witnessed demonstrations marking the 40th anniversary of the murder of the young woman, Mahsa Amini.
According to the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency “ISNA”, about 10,000 people participated in the commemoration of the late young woman at her grave in her hometown of “Sakez”, amid strict security measures from the Iranian authorities.
The Iranian authorities used batons and tear gas to disperse the demonstrations, which also witnessed clashes between the two sides.
On September 16, protests erupted across Iran following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, 3 days after she was arrested by the “Moral Police” concerned with monitoring women’s dress code.
The incident sparked widespread popular anger in the political and media circles in Iran, amid conflicting accounts of the causes of death.
TRT Arabic – Agencies