US Sanctions Iran’s Interior Minister and Police Force Commander
The US Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions against several officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran. A number of Islamic Republic officials have been placed on the sanctions list on charges of brutal suppression of peaceful protests and ordering the shooting of demonstrators.
Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury Secretary, announced that Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Interior Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hossein Ashtari Fard, Commander of the Police Force, and a number of senior NAJA officials have been placed on his sanctions blacklist due to human rights violations.
The Interior Minister of the Islamic Republic and senior NAJA forces have been accused of brutal suppression of peaceful protests by the Iranian people in November 2019.
Rahmani Fazli, Ashtari Fard, and other senior officials of the Islamic Republic’s police forces have been accused of gross violations of human rights.
Furthermore, in the text of the US Treasury Department’s statement, the Interior Minister of the Islamic Republic has been accused of ordering the shooting of demonstrators in November 2019.
In the US Treasury Department’s statement, it was mentioned that as a result of police fire on demonstrators, a large number of people were killed. Moreover, it was stated that at least 23 of the victims of the brutal suppression of these protests were children and teenagers.
US Protest Against Brutal Suppression
The US Treasury Department announced that it will place any person or entity that carries out suppression of peaceful protests on its sanctions list.
On the US sanctions list, in addition to the name of Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Interior Minister, and Hossein Ashtari Fard, Commander of the Police Force of the Islamic Republic, several other names have also been included.
These include Ayoub Soleimani, Deputy Commander of NAJA, Mohammad Ali Nouri Nejad, NAJA Coordination Deputy, Hamidreza Ashraq, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Deputy of NAJA, Habil Darvish, a person affiliated with the NAJA Cooperative Foundation, Mohsen Fathizadeh, Head of the NAJA Protection and Intelligence Organization, Yahya Mahmoudzadeh, NAJA Planning and Budget Deputy, and Hassan Shahvar Pour, Commander of Velayat al-Asr Corps in Khuzestan.
The US new sanctions list has specifically mentioned the Cooperative Foundation. In the statement of the US Treasury Department, it is stated that the NAJA Cooperative Foundation is active in areas including energy, banking services, and the technology sector.
According to US sanctions policies, not only are the assets of these individuals in the US frozen, but also no US citizen can conduct economic cooperation with sanctioned individuals.
Moreover, banks and institutions in other countries have also been prohibited from cooperating with these individuals. In the statement of the US Treasury Department, it was mentioned that transactions and cooperation with these individuals could entail sanctions consequences for companies and economic and financial institutions in other countries.
Source: DW
