Report to Congress: List of Persons Who Are Responsible for or Complicit in Certain Human Rights Abuses in Iran

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Report to Congress: List of Persons Who Are Responsible for or Complicit in Certain Human Rights Abuses in Iran

The following direct line event was published by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs on June 1, 2021. It is reproduced in full below.

Pursuant to the authorities delegated to the Secretary of State in Executive Order (E.O.) 13553, which implements Section 105 of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, as amended (CISADA) (Public Law 111-195), as well as in the October 9, 2012, Delegation of Certain Functions and Authorities Under the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012 (TRA), this report includes persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with or at the recommendation of the Secretary of State, to meet the criteria in Sections 105(b), 105A(b), and 105B(b) of CISADA. This report includes persons who are subject to visa sanctions and whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to E.O. 13553, based on determinations that such persons are, among other things, responsible for or complicit in, or responsible for ordering, controlling, or otherwise directing, the commission of serious human rights abuses against citizens of Iran or their family members.

This report also includes persons who are subject to visa sanctions and whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to sections 2 or 3 of E.O. 13628 and section 7 of E.O. 13846, based on determinations that such persons have engaged in certain actions with respect to (i) goods or technologies that have been determined likely to be used by the Government of Iran or any of its agencies or instrumentalities (or by any other person on behalf of the Government of Iran, or any of its agencies or instrumentalities) to commit serious human rights abuses against the people of Iran, or (ii) censorship or other activities with respect to Iran that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or assembly by Iranian citizens, or that limit accessto print or broadcast media. In addition to these persons, this report also includes certain persons designated or listed under other authorities based on a determination that they have engaged in certain conduct related to human rights violations or abuses, as further described below. This report is based upon information as of May 3, 2021.

The individuals designated to date under E.O. 13553 are:

* Abdollah Araghi, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Ground Forces Deputy Commander;

* Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Prosecutor General of Tehran;

* Hassan Firouzabadi, senior military advisor to the Supreme Leader, former Chairman of Iran’s Joint Chiefs of Staff;

* Mohammad Ali Jafari, former Commander of the IRGC;

* Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam, former Commander of the Law Enforcement Forces;

* Sadeq Mahsouli, former Minister of Welfare and Social Security, former Minister of the Interior and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces for Law Enforcement;

* Qolam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, Judiciary Spokesman, former Prosecutor-General of Iran, former Minister of Intelligence;

* Saeed Mortazavi, former head of Iranian Anti-Smuggling Task Force, former Prosecutor-General of Tehran;

* Heydar Moslehi, former Minister of Intelligence;

* Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, former Minister of the Interior and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces for Law Enforcement;

* Mohammad Reza Naqdi, former Commander of the IRGC Basij Resistance Force;

* Ahmad-Reza Radan, former Deputy Chief of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces, Senior Iranian Law Enforcement Official;

* Hossein Taeb, Deputy Commander of the IRGC, Commander of the IRGC Intelligence Organization, former Commander of the Basij Resistance Force;

* Asghar Mir-Hejazi, Intelligence advisor to the Supreme Leader;

* Sohrab Soleimani, Supervisor of the Office of the Deputy for Security and Law Enforcement of the State Prisons Organization, former Director General of the Tehran Prisons Organization;

* Sadegh Amoli Larijani, Chairman of the Expediency Council and former Head of Iran’s Judiciary;

* Gholamreza Ziaei, Director of Rajaee Shahr Prison;

* Abdholhamid Mohtasham, founding member of Ansar-e Hizballah;

* Hossein Allahkaram, cofounder and leader of Ansar-e Hizballah;

* Hamid Ostad, founder of Mashhad branch of Ansar-e Hizballah;

* Hossein Ashtari Fard, Commander of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces (LEF);

* Ayoub Soleimani, Deputy Commander of the LEF;

* Mohsen Fathi Zadeh, Chief of the Defense and Intelligence Organizations of the LEF;

* Yahya Mahmoodzadeh, Deputy of Planning and Budget for the LEF;

* Hamidraza Ashraq, Deputy and Parliamentary Affairs for the LEF;

* Mohammad Ali Noorinajad, Chairman of the LEF Cooperation Foundation;

* Habil Darvish, Deputy of Engineering of the LEF and head of the LEF Cooperative Foundation;

* Hasan Shahvarpour, Brigadier General and Commander of the IRGC Vali Asr forces of Khuzestan Province; and

* Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Minister of Interior and chair of Iran’s National Domestic Security Council.

The entities designated to date under E.O. 13553 are:

* The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps;

* The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force;

* The Basij Resistance Force;

* Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran;

* The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security;

* Abyssec;

* Tehran Prisons Organization;

* Rajaee Shahr Prison;

* Ansar-e Hezbollah;

* Evin Prison;

* The Fatemiyoun Division;

* The Zaynabiyoun Brigade;

* Ghavamin Bank; and

* The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) Cooperative Foundation.

The individuals designated under Sections 2 or 3 of E.O. 13628, which previously implemented Sections 105A and 105B of CISADA, respectively, are:

* Ali Fazli, Deputy Commander of the Basij;

* Rasool Jalili, Sharif University of Technology, member of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace;

* Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam, former Commander of the Law Enforcement Forces;

* Reza Taghipour, former Minister of Communications and Information Technology;

* Ezzatollah Zarghami, former Director of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, member of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace;

* Morteza Tamaddon, former Governor-General of Tehran Province;

* Abolhassan Firouzabadi, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace;

* Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, Secretary of the Committee to Determine Instances of Criminal Content; and

* Abdulali Ali-Asgari, Director General of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.

The entities designated under Sections 2 or 3 of E.O. 13628, which previously implemented Sections 105A and 105B of CISADA, respectively, are:

* Amn Afzar Gostar-e Sharif;

* Center to Investigate Organized Crime;

* Iranian Communications Regulatory Authority;

* Iran Electronic Industries;

* Iranian Cyber Police;

* Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting;

* Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance;

* PeykAsa;

* Press Supervisory Board;

* Committee to Determine Instances of Criminal Content;

* Ofogh Saberin Engineering Development Company;

* Douran Software Technologies;

* Supreme Council of Cyberspace; and

* The National Cyberspace Center.

* The entities and individuals designated to date under Section 7 of E.O. 13846, which now implements Sections 105A and 105B of CISADA, are:

* Ayandeh Bank;

* Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, Minister of Information and Communications Technology;

* Mohammad Moghisseh, Judge and Head of the Tehran Revolutionary Court Branch 28; and

* Abdolghassem Salavati, Judge and Head of the Tehran Revolutionary Court Branch 15.

* The current Iranian foreign officials designated to date under Section 7031(c) for involvement in gross violations of human rights are:

* Hassan Shahvarpour; Brigadier General and Commander of the IRGC Vali Asr forces of Khuzestan Province, and

* Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli; Minister of Interior and chair of Iran’s National Domestic Security Council

The entities listed to date under Section 106 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) based on a determination that they were responsible for extrajudicial killings, torture, or other gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against certain individuals in Iran are:

* Great Tehran Penitentiary; and

* Qarchak Prison.

The Departments of State and the Treasury continue to assess the involvement of other persons in human rights violations or abuses and censorship or other activities that prohibit, limit, or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or assembly as information becomes available. Treasury will impose sanctions on those persons determined to meet the relevant criteria as appropriate.

The Secretary of State will continue to exercise the functions delegated to him, including submitting updated lists to the appropriate congressional committees as required by Sections 105(b)(2), 105A(b)(4), and 105B(b)(2) of CISADA.

Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs

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