US sanctions more Iranian officials for protest crackdown

WASHINGTON: The United States imposed sanctions on three Iranian officials on Wednesday for their role in the crackdown on protests in Kurdish-populated regions of the country.

“The Iranian regime is reportedly targeting and gunning down its own children, who have taken to the street to demand a better future,” Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson said in a statement. “The abuses being committed in Iran against protesters, including most recently in Mahabad, must stop,” Nelson said.

“Since countrywide protests erupted after the killing of Mahsa Amini by Iran´s ´morality police´ in September 2022, the Kurdish cities in northwestern Iran, such as Sanandaj and Mahabad, have faced a particularly severe security response,” the department said.