Iran Dismisses US Sanctions of Iranians over Alleged Kidnap Plot

Iran dismissed new US sanctions on four Iranians over an alleged plot to kidnap an Iranian-American journalist. (Reuters)
Iran dismissed new US sanctions on four Iranians over an alleged plot to kidnap an Iranian-American journalist. (Reuters)
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Iran Dismisses US Sanctions of Iranians over Alleged Kidnap Plot

Iran dismissed new US sanctions on four Iranians over an alleged plot to kidnap an Iranian-American journalist. (Reuters)
Iran dismissed new US sanctions on four Iranians over an alleged plot to kidnap an Iranian-American journalist. (Reuters)

Iran on Saturday dismissed new US sanctions on four Iranians over an alleged plot to kidnap an Iranian-American journalist, saying the move reflects Washington’s “addiction to sanctions”.

The US Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned the four, saying they were intelligence operatives behind the failed plot.

“Supporters and merchants of sanctions, who see their sanctions tool box empty due to Iran’s maximum resistance, are now resorting to Hollywood scenarios to keep the sanctions alive,” the Foreign Ministry said in a tweet, quoting spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh.

“Washington must understand that it has no choice but to abandon its addiction to sanctions and respect Iran,” he said.

The sanctions come after US prosecutors in July charged the four with plotting to kidnap a New York-based journalist who was critical of Tehran. Reuters previously confirmed she was Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad.

Iran at the time called the alleged plot “ridiculous and baseless.”

Those sanctioned are senior Iran-based intelligence official Alireza Shahvaroghi Farahani and Iranian intelligence operatives Mahmoud Khazein, Kiya Sadeghi and Omid Noori, the Treasury Department said.

The sanctions block all property of the four in the United States or in US control, and prohibit any transactions between them and US citizens. Other non-Americans who conduct certain transactions with the four could also be subjected to US sanctions, the department said.



Multiple Quakes Leave Casualties in Guatemala, Cause Landslides

Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
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Multiple Quakes Leave Casualties in Guatemala, Cause Landslides

Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
Debris lays on the street after dozens of earthquakes and aftershocks were recorded in a matter of hours in Palin, Guatemala, early Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

A series of dozens of earthquakes were recorded in the span of hours in Guatemala, leaving two dead when rocks fell on their vehicle, authorities said. Landslides left several others buried.

More than 37 earthquakes and aftershocks with magnitudes ranging from 3.0 to 5.6 were reported in Guatemala Tuesday afternoon, said Edwin Rodas, director of the National Institute for Seismology, Vulcanology, Meteorology and Hydrology.

The tremors resulted in the evacuation of buildings, landslides, and minor property damage, officials said, adding they were felt as far away as El Salvador.
The two men killed were traveling in a pickup truck on a local road in the department of Escuintla when the rocks fell from a hillside onto the vehicle, firefighters said, according to The Associated Press.

Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo said at a press conference Tuesday that the main epicenter of the quakes was in the department of Sacatepéquez, with aftershocks in the regions of Escuintla and Guatemala department.

At least five people were buried by landslides, but emergency responders were able to rescue two, he added.

The National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction declared an orange alert, the second-highest on the emergency scale.

The US Geological Survey reported a 4.8 magnitude earthquake at 3:11 p.m. local time, 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) southwest of the town of Amatitlán, south of Guatemala City, with a depth of 10 kilometers (6 miles). It then reported another 5.7 magnitude quake 3 kilometers (2 miles) northwest of San Vicente Pacaya, a municipality in Escuintla, in the south-central region of the country.

Another 4.8 magnitude quake was reported 6 kilometers (4 miles) northwest of Palín, also in Escuintla.