US sanctions Iran interior minister after protest crackdown

WASHINGTON - The United States on Jan 30 announced sanctions against Iran’s interior minister and other officials, following the deadly crackdown on anti-government protests in the country in recent weeks.

Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni “oversees the murderous Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran (LEF), a key entity responsible for the deaths of thousands of peaceful protesters,” the US Treasury Department said, in a statement about the measures.

Those sanctioned also included several high-ranking officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as Iranian investor Babak Morteza Zanjani, who stands accused of having “embezzled billions in funds from the Iranian people.”

In a first, the US Treasury also announced sanctions against digital currency exchanges linked to Zanjani “that have processed large volumes of funds associated with IRGC-linked counterparties.”

The European Union on Jan 29

designated the Revolutionary Guards

as a “terrorist organisation”, adopting visa bans and asset freezes on a number of Iranian state entities and officials.

The US, which already has harsh sanctions against Iran in place, “supports the Iranian people in their protests against the corrupt and repressive regime in Tehran,” the agency added.

When an individual or entity comes under US sanctions, assets held in the United StatesS are frozen.

Sanctions also prohibit US companies and citizens from doing business with them, at the risk of being subject to sanctions themselves.

Iranian authorities acknowledge that

thousands were killed

during the recent protests, giving a toll of more than 3,000 deaths, but say the majority were members of the security forces or bystanders killed by “rioters.”

But rights groups warn the toll is likely far higher, with estimates in the tens of thousands. AFP