US Slaps New Sanctions on Iranian Officials over Protest Crackdown

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, not pictured, in Washington, DC, on October 25, 2022. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, not pictured, in Washington, DC, on October 25, 2022. (Reuters)
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US Slaps New Sanctions on Iranian Officials over Protest Crackdown

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, not pictured, in Washington, DC, on October 25, 2022. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken looks on during a meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, not pictured, in Washington, DC, on October 25, 2022. (Reuters)

The United States on Wednesday targeted Iranian officials, including those overseeing Tehran's Evin prison and others in new sanctions on Iran over internet censorship and a crackdown on protests ignited by Mahsa Amini's death in police custody.

Demonstrations following 22-year-old's death in custody on Sept. 16 have become one of the boldest challenges to Iran's clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution.

"We will continue to find ways to support the people of Iran as they peacefully protest in defense of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in doing so, will continue to impose costs on individuals and entities in Iran who engage in the brutal repression of the Iranian people," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The US Treasury Department in a separate statement said it imposed sanctions on Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officials, including the commander of its intelligence organization, as well as provincial and Iranian prison officials and people and entities tied to internet censorship.

Wednesday's move targets Hedayat Farzadi, who the Treasury accused of operating Evin prison as its warden. The prison mostly holds political prisoners and Washington says numerous protesters have been sent there.

Iranian American businessman Siamak Namazi is held at Evin Prison.

Seyyed Heshmatollah Hayat Al-Ghaib, the director-general of Tehran Province Prisons - which the Treasury said gave him oversight of Evin - was also named.

Also named were two members of Iran's intelligence and security ministry, as well as the Ravin Academy founded by them, which the Treasury said trains people in cyber-security and hacking as well as recruits candidates for the ministry.

Iranian company Samane Gostar Sahab Pardaz Private Ltd Co, which Washington said provides censorship, surveillance and espionage tools to the Iranian government, was also designated.

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US action freezes any US assets belonging to those named and generally bars Americans from dealing with them. Those dealing in certain transactions with them also risk being hit with sanctions.

A wide range of Iranians have come out onto the streets since Amini's death, with some calling for the downfall of the regime and chanting "Death to (Supreme Leader Ali) Khamenei".

Rights groups said at least 250 protesters have been killed, including teenage girls, and thousands have been arrested.

The authorities, who have accused the United States and other Western countries of fomenting what they call "riots", have yet to announce a death toll but state media have said around 30 members of the security forces have been killed.



Former Israeli Hostage Dies at 78

A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
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Former Israeli Hostage Dies at 78

A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)
A poster calling for the release of Hannah (Chana) Katzir is taped to the door of her home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)

Hannah Katzir, an Israeli woman who was taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023, and freed in a brief ceasefire last year, has died. She was 78.

She was among the 250 hostages the Palestinian group Hamas took back into Gaza following the surprise attack that left about 1,200 people dead.

Israel’s subsequent bombardment and ground invasion have killed over 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count.

The Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the families of people taken captive, confirmed Katzir’s death Tuesday but did not disclose the cause.

Her daughter, Carmit Palty Katzir said in a statement that her mother’s “heart could not withstand the terrible suffering since Oct. 7.”

Katzir’s husband, Rami, was killed during the attack by fighters who raided their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz. Her son Elad was also kidnapped and his body was recovered in April by the Israeli military, who said he had been killed in captivity.

She spent 49 days in captivity and was freed in late November 2023. Shortly after Katzir was freed, her daughter told Israeli media that she had been hospitalized with heart issues attributed to “difficult conditions and starvation” while she was held captive.