US Levies New Sanctions Against Iran Over Violence Against Women

The United States has levied new sanctions on Iran over it violence against the women and girls who are participating in ongoing anti-government protests. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the new sanctions on Wednesday, as the US marked International Women’s Day.

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in a statement said that the Iranian’s sanctioned include two senior officials in Iran’s prison system who have been responsible for serious human rights abuses against women and girls, the top commander of the Iranian army and a high-ranking leader in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as an Iranian official who was central to the regime’s efforts to block internet access. In addition, OFAC isaid it would sanction three Iranian companies and their leadership for enabling the violent repression by the Iranian Law Enforcement Forces   of peaceful protestors, including many women and girls.

“The United States, along with our partners and allies, stand with the women of Iran, who advocate for fundamental freedoms in the face of a brutal regime that treats women as second-class citizens and attempts to suppress their voices by any means,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “We will continue to take action against the regime, which perpetuates abuse and violence against its own citizens—especially women and girls.”

The protests led by women and girls were sparked in September by the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman Masha Amini while in the custody of the modesty police for wearing her hijab improperly.