US imposes sanctions on Iranian officials amid ongoing violence in protests

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US imposed sanctions on key military officials in Iran amid continued violence against protestors there nationwide, the Treasury Department said Wednesday.

The sanctions include Iran's prosecutor general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, who the Treasury Department said issued a directive to courts to "act decisively" and issue harsh sentences" to many of those arrested during ongoing protests.

"Observers have consistently documented the use of torture by Iranian authorities during investigations for the purpose of extracting confessions," the agency said in a statement.

Two senior officials from Iran’s Basij Resistance Forces, a paramilitary organization controlled by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and two IRGC officials, were also on the sanctions list.

Sanctions were also issued against Imen Sanat Zaman Fara, a company that manufactures and provides Iran’s law enforcement forces with anti-riot equipment.

"In the past two weeks, two protestors have been executed, one publicly, and several others have been sentenced to death. Today’s action targets the senior official overseeing the prosecution of protestors, as well as leaders of military and paramilitary organizations violently cracking down and detaining protestors and a company that procures and provides security forces with tools of suppression," according to the statement.

Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson denounced the Iranian regime's use of violence against its people who are advocating for their human rights.

"The United States and our partners are dedicated to holding Iranian officials to account for egregious abuses committed against Iranian citizens fighting for their fundamental freedoms," he said.