Iran slaps fresh sanctions on US officials, institutions

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s ministry of foreign affairs issued fresh sanctions targeting several United States officials and institutions on Monday for their alleged interference in the country’s internal affairs amidst the ongoing unrest.

The death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini while in the custody of Tehran’s morality police on September 16 ignited an unprecedented nationwide protest movement that has brought Iranians from all corners together to call for the overthrow of the Islamic regime. The use of violence by Iranian security forces to disperse the demonstrators has been widely condemned by the international community.

The new sanctions are aimed at 10 US officials and four American legal entities in Iran, according to a statement from the foreign ministry, accusing the subjects of the sanctions of interfering in Iran’s internal affairs and “promoting violence and disorder” in the country.

Under the fresh sanctions, Iran will deny the subjects entry into the country, as well as blocking bank accounts and confiscating the assets of the targeted individuals inside the Islamic republic.

Washington frequently imposes sanctions on Iranian officials and institutions, and has publicly expressed solidarity with the protesters in Iran to the dismay of the Islamic republic.

The US State Department earlier this week sanctioned 10 Iranian officials, two Iranian intelligence actors, and two Iranian entities for their “brutal” crackdown of the nationwide protests and “efforts to disrupt digital freedom.”

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization (IHR), which covers human rights violations across Iran, said on Friday that at least 253 people, including 34 children have been killed in the ongoing nationwide protests. Protests are still ongoing despite the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard warning young Iranians to stop taking to the streets.