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US Issues Fresh Iran Sanctions over Human Rights Violations

Women walk on a market street in Tehran on September 15, 2024, on the second anniversary of a protest movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Women walk on a market street in Tehran on September 15, 2024, on the second anniversary of a protest movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
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US Issues Fresh Iran Sanctions over Human Rights Violations

Women walk on a market street in Tehran on September 15, 2024, on the second anniversary of a protest movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)
Women walk on a market street in Tehran on September 15, 2024, on the second anniversary of a protest movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP)

The United States issued a new round of Iran sanctions on Wednesday targeting 12 individuals who it said were tied to Tehran's "ongoing, violent repression of the Iranian people," including its "brutal crackdown on peaceful protests."
The sanctions, which come two years after the death of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amin in police custody, target members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iranian prison officials "and those responsible for lethal operations overseas," the US Treasury Department said in a statement.
The Treasury Department said Iran's security forces, including the IRGC and its Basij paramilitary force, had led a crackdown on peaceful protests in cities all over Iran.
IRGC units had used lethal force against protesters, arrested people for political expression, and attempted to intimidate the Iranian people through violence, it said.

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China Urges Iran, Israel to ‘Immediately’ Take Steps to Cool Tensions 

A young boy walks through the debris at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, on June 16, 2025. (AFP)
A young boy walks through the debris at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, on June 16, 2025. (AFP)
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China Urges Iran, Israel to ‘Immediately’ Take Steps to Cool Tensions 

A young boy walks through the debris at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, on June 16, 2025. (AFP)
A young boy walks through the debris at the site of an Iranian missile strike in Bnei Brak, east of Tel Aviv, on June 16, 2025. (AFP)

China urged Iran and Israel to "immediately" take steps to reduce tensions on Monday after Tehran unleashed a barrage of missile strikes on Israeli cities and Israel struck military targets deep inside Iran.

"We urge all parties to immediately take measures to cool down the tensions, prevent the region from falling into greater turmoil, and create conditions for returning to the right track of resolving issues through dialogue and negotiations," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.

Israel's surprise assault on Iran last week, launched after decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war fought through proxies and covert operations, has touched off the most intense fighting yet and triggered fears of a lengthy conflict that could engulf the Middle East.

Israel says its attacks have hit military and nuclear facilities and killed many top Iranian commanders and atomic scientists, although a senior US official said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump told Israel to back down from a plan to kill supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

China's top diplomat Wang Yi held phone calls with his Israeli and Iranian counterparts on Saturday, the foreign ministry said, in which he made clear to both Beijing's support for Tehran.

China enjoys close ties with Iran, being its largest commercial partner and the main buyer of its oil with Tehran still under crushing US sanctions.

Guo said on Monday "all relevant parties should immediately take steps to put the brakes on the escalation and to cool down the tensions".

"Force cannot bring lasting peace," he said.

"China will continue to maintain communication with the relevant parties, and promote peace and encourage dialogue, to prevent further turbulence in the region," he said.