A coalition of countries are jointly taking action against several more Iranian officials for their roles in human-rights abuses against peaceful government protesters, the U.S. Departments of State (DOS) and Treasury (DOT) announced Jan. 23.
The U.S., United Kingdom (U.K.) and the European Union (EU) have issued sanctions against 10 Iranian individuals and one Iranian entity, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Cooperative Foundation, the DOS reports. These latest sanctions are the ninth such "targeting actors responsible for the crackdown on peaceful demonstrators since the nationwide protests began in 2022," according to the DOS report.
Sec. of State Antony Blinken also announced designations made the "coordination" with allies in a post to Twitter, in which he states "We stand with the Iranian people as they bravely defend their human rights and fundamental freedoms."
This round of designations against Iranian authorities for human-rights abuses comes after December's joint announcement by the U.S. and Canada that the two countries had cooperated in sanctions against 22 other Iranians on similar charges.
The DOT's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in coordination with the EU and U.K., imposed the designations on Iran’s IRGC Cooperative Foundation, five of its board members, the Deputy Minister of Intelligence and Security, and four senior IRGC commanders, according to the DOT. The IRGC is "a key economic pillar of the IRGC, which funds much of the regime’s brutal suppression," the DOT states.
The OFAC describes the IRGC Cooperative Foundation as an "economic conglomerate" allegedly set up to support service members but is actually operating as a "slush fund for the IRGC’s personnel and their business interests" and regularly funding IRGC militant groups.
"With national protests in their fourth month, the IRGC continues to aggressively crack down on peaceful demonstrations and has played a leading role in suppressing protests through extensive human rights abuses," OFAC states in its announcement.
The DOS, in its December statement, said the U.S. and its allies are "united in our support for the brave people of Iran" and will continue to pursue individuals who commit human rights abuses against Iranians.
"Everyone in Iran should have the right to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly," the DOS stated, "and the Iranian regime must end its use of violence against its own people simply for exercising those rights."
