US targets Iran’s prosecutor general, military officials with new sanctions

The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled new sanctions on Iranian officials, including the senior official overseeing the prosecution of protesters, as the nationwide anti-government demonstrations in Iran enter their fourth month. 

The US Treasury Department designated Iran’s prosecutor general, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, and key military and paramilitary officials for their roles in the crackdown. Also targeted was a company allegedly manufacturing and providing Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces with anti-riot equipment.  

“We denounce the Iranian regime’s intensifying use of violence against its own people who are advocating for their human rights,” Brian Nelson, Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

“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,” Nelson said.  

Since the protests erupted over the Sept. 16 death in police custody of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, the administration has issued multiple rounds of sanctions targeting Iranian officials involved in the violence against protesters and internet censorship.