The US State Department has blacklisted two Iranian interrogators, the first such designations under the Biden administration.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday announced the sanctions against Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps interrogators Ali Hemmatian and Masoud Safdari “for their involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely the torture and/or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment (CIDTP) of political prisoners and persons detained during protests in 2019 and 2020 in Iran.” The men and their immediate family are barred from entering the United States.
“The United States will continue to support the rights of people in Iran and demand the Iranian government treat its people with respect and dignity,” Blinken said in a statement.
Later on Tuesday in a briefing with reporters, State Department Ned Price said that the designation of the two Iranian interrogators is completely separate from US attempts to renegotiate the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
“We can pursue what is in our interests, and an Iran that is permanently and verifiably barred from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon is in our interests, just as we uphold and act in accordance with our values. And it is consistent with our values to make clear that there will be consequences for the sort of gross violations of human rights that these individuals engaged in. We can absolutely do both, and that’s what we did today,” Price said.