US targets senior Iranian officials with new sanctions
Those sanctioned include Iran's interior and communications ministers.
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on seven senior Iranian leaders linked to the country’s violent suppression of nationwide protests and continued clampdown on internet access.
Those blacklisted by the Treasury Department include Iranian Communications Minister Eisa Zarepour, who it blamed for Iran’s digital crackdown, and Minister of the Interior Ahmad Vahidi, who has oversight of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces (LEF). The LEF are to blame for “at least dozens of casualties in the recent demonstrations against the morality police," the department said.
The United States also slapped sanctions on five other senior leaders in Iran’s security apparatus, including from its cyber police and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“The rights to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly are vital to guaranteeing individual liberty and dignity,” Under Secretary of the Treasury Brian Nelson said in a statement.
