News

Two years ago this month, Iranian authorities violently cracked down on protests in the wake of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election victory.  On Thursday, the United States imposed sanctions against three government entities and one individual for their connections to human rights abuses in Iran.

The sanctions imposed Thursday target Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the paramilitary Basij Resistance Force, Iran's national police and its chief, Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam.

The U.S. State Department and Treasury say those entities share responsibility for the sustained and severe violation of human rights in Iran.

State Department Acting Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at the State Department that these sanctions freeze any assets the designated persons and entities might have in the United States, and they prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with them.