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)
TT
20

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.



Anti-war Demonstrators Protest the Arrival of an Israeli Cruise Ship on the Greek Island of Crete

 Pro-Palestinians protesters gather during the departure of a ship carrying Israeli tourists, background, in Agios Nikolaos port, on the island of Crete, Greece, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (Antonis Zouridakis/Eurokinissi via AP)
Pro-Palestinians protesters gather during the departure of a ship carrying Israeli tourists, background, in Agios Nikolaos port, on the island of Crete, Greece, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (Antonis Zouridakis/Eurokinissi via AP)
TT
20

Anti-war Demonstrators Protest the Arrival of an Israeli Cruise Ship on the Greek Island of Crete

 Pro-Palestinians protesters gather during the departure of a ship carrying Israeli tourists, background, in Agios Nikolaos port, on the island of Crete, Greece, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (Antonis Zouridakis/Eurokinissi via AP)
Pro-Palestinians protesters gather during the departure of a ship carrying Israeli tourists, background, in Agios Nikolaos port, on the island of Crete, Greece, Tuesday, July 29, 2025. (Antonis Zouridakis/Eurokinissi via AP)

Demonstrators calling for an end to the war in Gaza protested the arrival of an Israeli cruise ship on another Greek island Tuesday – the third such protest on Greek islands in the last week.

Protesters on the southern Greek island of Crete unfurled a huge Palestinian flag at the port of Agios Nikolaos and shouted “Free, free Palestine” as the tourists on board the Crown Iris disembarked and left on buses for their tours of the island, according to images shown on local media outlets.

Riot police kept the crowd away from the pier where the cruise ship was docked, while scuffles broke out between demonstrators and police. Local media reported that officers used pepper spray at one point to keep the crowd back.

Four people were detained, local media said. Video showed police leading one man away, his arms cuffed behind his back, as he shouted “Free, free Palestine.”

Similar scenes unfolded the previous day when the Crown Iris docked in a port on the eastern Greek island of Rhodes, where clashes broke out between riot police and demonstrators calling for an end to the war in Gaza. There also, the cruise ship’s passengers disembarked for tours of the island, and no violence was reported.

Anti-war protesters on Greece’s Cycladic island of Syros were the first to hold a demonstration against the docking of the Crown Iris, on July 22. The crowd of about 150 people chanted slogans and carried banners that read “Stop the Genocide” and “No a/c in hell” — a reference to the conditions Palestinians face in the Gaza Strip.

On that occasion, the ship’s roughly 1,700 passengers didn't disembark and the ship left the island earlier than planned, with the company operating the trip, Israel’s Mano Cruise, saying it had “decided in light of the situation in the city of Syros to now sail to another tourist destination.”

Last week's incident had triggered a phone call by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar to Greek counterpart George Gerapetritis.

Greece is a popular tourist destination for Israelis on package tours and traveling independently, particularly in the summer months, and there are several flights per day between Tel Aviv and Athens, as well as from Israeli airports directly to Greek islands.