The U.S. Donald Trump administration sanctioned key Iranian officials and military figures who led the hard-line crackdown on Iran's anti-government protests.
With President Trump having earlier warned of the possibility of military intervention against Iran, the move is seen as an attempt to increase pressure on the Iranian government.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said on the 15th, local time, "As the Iranian people bravely take to the streets to demand basic freedoms and economic stability, OFAC is moving to take action against individuals who designed the Iranian regime's brutal suppression of peaceful protesters," announcing a new sanctions list.
The sanctions list includes Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). OFAC said, "Larijani is among the first Iranian leaders to call for the use of violence in response to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people." In addition, two commanders of the Law Enforcement Forces (LEF), Iran's security force, and two commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) were also designated for sanctions.
These figures are active in Fars Province and Lorestan Province, where anti-government protests are intensifying. In those areas, the Law Enforcement Forces and the Revolutionary Guard committed numerous brutal acts, including firing on civilians.
Treasury Minister Scott Bessent said, "At President Trump's direction, the Treasury Department is sanctioning key Iranian leaders involved in the brutal crackdown on the Iranian people." Minister Bessent said, "The United States stands firmly behind the Iranian people who demand freedom and justice," adding, "The Treasury will use every tool to target those behind the regime's oppressive human rights abuses."
Along with this, OFAC also designated as additional sanctions targets the individuals and entities involved in the so-called "shadow finance" networks of Iran's Bank Melli and Bank Saderat that are under sanctions. They were found to have played a key role in laundering revenue from the sale of Iran's oil and petrochemical products in overseas markets.