US Imposes New Sanctions on Iranian Officials Over Crackdown on Peaceful Protests.
Washington:
The United States has announced a new round of sanctions targeting Iranian government officials accused of overseeing the violent suppression of peaceful protests across Iran.
According to US authorities, the sanctions are aimed at senior figures responsible for directing Iran’s security forces during recent crackdowns on demonstrators protesting decades of economic hardship and political repression. The protests come as Iran marks 47 years since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, a period Washington says has been defined by economic mismanagement and corruption.
US officials argue that while ordinary Iranians face soaring inflation, deteriorating infrastructure, and chronic shortages of water and electricity, the regime in Tehran continues to prioritise funding terrorist militias abroad and expanding its weapons programmes. These policies, the United States says, have come at the direct expense of the Iranian people’s basic needs and quality of life.
As part of the action, the US has designated six Iranian officials who oversee security forces accused of using violence against protesters. In addition, sanctions have been imposed on an Iranian investor alleged to have embezzled billions of dollars from public funds, further deepening the country’s economic crisis.
“The United States stands with the Iranian people in their protests against a corrupt and repressive regime,” officials said, reaffirming Washington’s support for the right to peaceful assembly and expression in Iran.
The measures are being implemented under several existing US authorities, including Executive Order 13553, which targets serious human rights abuses by the Iranian government; Executive Order 13224, a counterterrorism authority; and Executive Order 13902, which focuses on Iran’s financial, petroleum, and petrochemical sectors.
The sanctions also align with National Security Presidential Memorandum 2, which directs the US government to apply “maximum pressure” on Iran in order to cut off revenues used to fund what Washington describes as destabilising and malign activities at home and abroad.
US officials signalled that further actions could follow, stressing that accountability for human rights abuses remains a central pillar of US policy toward Iran.
