The West stepped up pressure on Iran on Monday over its crackdown on protests after the United States, European Union and United Kingdom imposed new sanctions on Tehran.
The action, which reflects a deterioration in the West’s already tarnished relations with Tehran in recent months, is the latest response to Iran’s deadly crackdown on unrest following the death of young Iranian Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody in September.
The protests by Iranians from all walks of life represent one of the boldest challenges to the ruling democracy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran accuses Western powers of fomenting the unrest, which security forces have faced with deadly violence.
The United States targeted the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and senior officials in its crackdown, which imposed sanctions on the IRGC Cooperative Foundation and five members of its board, Deputy Minister of Intelligence and Security Nasser Rashidi and four senior IRGC commanders in Iran . ,
The US Treasury Department said the action “targets the IRGC’s key economic pillar, which funds the regime’s brutal repression, with senior security officials coordinating Tehran’s actions at the national and provincial levels.”
Washington has accused the IRGC of aggressively cracking down on peaceful demonstrations and said it has “played a leading role in suppressing protests through widespread human rights abuses.”
The IRGC was established shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shia clerical system of governance. It has an estimated 125,000-strong army with army, navy and air units, and the Basij religious militia is often used in crackdowns.
Treasury described the IRGC Cooperative Foundation – already under US sanctions – as an economic conglomerate set up by senior officials of the group to manage its investments and presence in sectors of Iran’s economy.
