US issues new Iran sanctions over protest crackdown
The latest sanctions target two law enforcement commanders and the warden of an Iranian prison housing political prisoners.
The Biden administration on Friday unveiled fresh sanctions targeting three Iranian officials involved in the repression of the country’s nationwide protests and other human rights abuses.
Among those targeted by the US Treasury Department was Ali Akbar Javidan, the Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) commander in Iran’s western Kermanshah province who the department described as having direct oversight of forces that have killed protesters, including children and the elderly.
“Javidan has made public statements justifying the police response to the ongoing protests while valorizing the LEF forces for suppressing them,” the department said in a statement.
During a roundup of 1,700 people in July, he allegedly vowed to punish so-called moral crimes, including for the improper wearing of the hijab.
