New US Sanctions On Iran Cite ‘Brutal Repression’
The United States Wednesday slapped new sanctions on a raft of Iranians including prison governors, intelligence officials and suspects in Internet disruptions.
The United States Wednesday slapped new sanctions on a raft of Iranians including prison governors, intelligence officials and suspects in Internet disruptions.
Antony Blinken, the Secretary of State, released a statement saying Washington would “continue to impose costs on individuals and entities in Iran who engage in the brutal repression of the Iranian people.”
The US Treasury, in a separate statement, said it was sanctioning officials in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, including its intelligence chief, and prisoner governors including Hedayet Farzadi, whom it named as warden of Tehran’s Evin prison, which has housed dual-national prisoners including still-held businessman Siamak Namazi. Heshmatollah Hayat Al-Ghaib, director-general for prisons in Tehran province, was also named.
The Treasury cited two officials in the south-east province of Sistan-Baluchistan, where Iranian security forces killed more than 80 Baluch residents during protests on September 30. Blinken’s statement cited Mohammed Reza Mirheydary, “chief of police in Isfahan Province…for his involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely the cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment of peaceful protestors during the November 2021 protests in Isfahan.” The Secretary of State noted that Mirheydary was now ineligible for entry into the US.
‘Disrupting communication’
The Treasury Department designated the Ravin Academy, which it said “trains individuals in cyber-security and hacking,” as well as Samane Gostar Sahab Pardaz, a company in the same field. Blinken’s statement alleged some trained at Ravin had “been involved in directly disrupting the communication of those protesting against the Iranian regime.”
The designations allow the US authorities to seize any assets held in the US and to sanction anyone – American or third-party – dealing with them. US ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions already threaten punitive action against any person or entity worldwide in contact with the Iranian financial system.
Blinken gave Wednesday’s total number of designations as 14 individuals and three entities, so “demonstrating our commitment to use all appropriate tools to hold all levels of the Iranian government to account.”
In September the US designated several Iranian companies over involvement in alleged supply of drones to Russia, ten involved in Iran’s energy exports, and Iran’s ‘morality police’ following the September 14 death in custody of a young woman.
‘Hypocritical statements’
After being sanctioned last week by the European Union over the alleged supply of drones to Russia, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, suggested his seized assets should be used to “buy coal” for the coming winter – a reference to fears over diminished Russian energy supplies.
Analysts have pondered the likely effects of extending sanctions on talks, currently frozen, to restore the 2015 agreement – the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) – limiting Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian Wednesday said US officials were making “hypocritical statements in the media in a way that contradicts their diplomatic messages.”
Special envoy Rob Malley recently told CNN US policy was “not of regime change instigated from Washington.” Officials have said that while talks remain the best way to revive the JCPOA, this was not their “main focus.” There have been no reports lately of parallel talks for a prisoner-swap, possibly including Namazi, with some analysts suggesting contacts are on hold pending the US Congressional elections November 8.
The courts have indicted at least 201 detained protesters behind closed doors on October 24, Rouydad24 news website in Tehran reported. Citing the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Hossein Fazeli the chief of Alborz Province Justice Administration charged that some of those detained are the agents of the Islamic Republic's enemies, adding that others are either sympathize with the enemies or took part in the protests as an emotional reaction.
As in past cases, the regime blames foreigners for organizing the protests, denying any political responsibility for social restrictions and the prevailing economic crisis. On the contrary, it says the United States and its allies planned the uprising because the Islamic Republic was having great success in all arenas.
Fazeli said that the 201 who were indicted had encouraged others to take part in the "riots." He also accused some other protesters of taking their orders from foreign intelligence agencies, an incriminating charge that could entail death sentence for the detainees.
Meanwhile, hardliner cleric Mahmoud Nabavian, who is a member of the ultraconservative Paydari Party has said in Tehran, without providing any evidence, that BBC Persian and Iran International TVs that beam news and current affair programs into Iran via satellite are the commanders of the protests in Iran.
He also said, again without presenting any evidence, that one of the protesters in Iran carried 10 billion rials of Iranian currency ($31,000) during the demonstrations and offered cash to protesters who chanted anti-regime slogans.
Nabavian reiterated that foreigners incited the "riots" with the aim of making Iran insecure.The clerics comments contradict remarks by some Iranian politicians and political activists who have said over and over that it was the government’s misguided policies, mismanagement, imposition of unpopular social restrictions and attempts to lie about Mahsa Amini’s death that triggered the protests. Amini was killed violently in hijab police custody, which triggered the first protests on September 16.
In another development, ultraconservative lawmaker Javad Kariomi Qoddousi claimed that Iran International TV knew about last week's fire at the Evin Prison, mindless of numerous reports that said prison officials knew about the fire from a few days earlier and they had given furloughs to some regime insiders who happened to be jail on corruption or murder convictions.
At the same time, the 40th day of Mahsa Amini’s death approaches on Wednesday and nationwide protests are scheduled.
Protest gatherings are gaining momentum in various cities according to reports. The 40th day mourning is not customary in the Sunni populated province of Kurdistan where the young woman came from, however, Shiite protesters are adamant to hold their custom as a sign of respect for the victim of police brutality.
Meanwhile, protests have been taking place non-stop since mid-September in Mahsa's hometown Saqqez in the Kudish province of Kordestan. At the same time, the north-eastern city of Tabriz has been the venue of major protests consisting of smaller gatherings at numerous spots across the city.
Protests took place in several western Iranian cities and town Monday evening, including Orumiyeh (Urmia), a mixed Azari and Kurdish city. The two linguistic groups who had some tensions in the past have issued statements of mutual support to overthrow the clerical regime.