On the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, Washington is targeting Iranian officials and state-affiliated media.
Washington, D.C. – The United States has imposed sanctions on dozens of Iranian officials and organizations accused of being involved in the “violent repression” of anti-government protests that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in Tehran last year.
The sanctions, which targeted senior security officials and state-affiliated media on Friday, came as the United States and Iran are expected to exchange prisoners as early as next week under a newly announced deal.
The U.S. punishments also coincide with the first anniversary of the death of Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was arrested by Iranian police for violating the country’s conservative dress code.
The incident sparked weeks of demonstrations across Iran, which were cracked down on by security forces. Iran has denied that Amini was beaten or ill-treated in detention.
“As we approach one year since Mahsa Amini’s tragic and senseless death in the custody of Iran’s so-called ‘moral police,’ we remember that the movement of men and women across Iran … has faced terrible violence,” said Brian Nelson , US Treasury Department official said in a statement.
He added that the sanctions were imposed in coordination with Washington’s Western allies, including Canada and the United Kingdom.
US President Joe Biden also paid tribute to Amini on Friday, saying she inspired a “historic movement” of people demanding gender equality and respect for human rights in Iran and around the world.
“In the face of ongoing oppression and violence, the citizens of Iran remain committed to this movement and its fight for a free and democratic future,” Biden said in a statement.
Iran denied attacking peaceful protesters and described the demonstrations as foreign-backed unrest.
Iranian media outlets sanctioned by the US on Friday include Press TV, Fars News Agency and Tasnim News Agency. The Treasury Department also targeted top executives at a cyber company that said it helped the Iranian government “censor and filter the Internet.”
The sanctions freeze the assets of companies and individuals in the United States and prevent financial institutions around the world from doing business with them.
The Biden administration’s move also signals that the US will continue its sanctions policy against Iran despite the looming prisoner exchange agreement.
The agreement calls for Iran to release five detained U.S. citizens in exchange for Washington giving Tehran access to $6 billion in Iranian funds frozen in South Korea under U.S. sanctions for humanitarian purposes. The US will also release five Iranians from American prisons.
The deal drew increasing criticism from Republican lawmakers, who accused the Biden administration of handing over $6 billion to Iran.
However, U.S. officials stressed that the funds were Iran’s own resources and said Washington’s policy toward Tehran would not change.
“We remain focused on containing Iran’s nuclear program and curbing its destabilizing behavior. “We remain committed to ensuring that it never acquires a nuclear weapon,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said earlier this week.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have been heating up since 2018, when former U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed a multilateral deal that would see Tehran reduce its nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions on its economy.
Biden took office in early 2021 promising to revive the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
But when several rounds of indirect negotiations failed to restore the pact, Washington continued its sanctions regime against Tehran and imposed further penalties.
The JCPOA talks were eventually put on hold, and attempts to revive them were complicated by the crackdown on anti-government protesters in Iran and allegations that Tehran was supplying Moscow with drones for use in Ukraine.
Iran, which has denied having a nuclear weapon, has expanded its nuclear program since the collapse of the JCPOA.