New sanctions imposed on commanders of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

The UK, US and EU packages are aimed at leaders of troops who opened fire on and killed unarmed protesters

Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps at a military drill in East Azerbaijan province, Iran. Reuters

The West has imposed new sanctions on Iran, increasing pressure on its brutal action against protesters.

The latest package, announced in co-ordination with the US and EU, is aimed at people and entities responsible for “serious human rights violations”.

The UK has imposed sanctions on four leaders whose troops have opened fire on unarmed protesters, resulting in deaths including of children, and arbitrarily detained and tortured protesters, the UK government said.

They are Mohammad Azimi, an IRGC commander responsible for the violent repression of protests in Kermanshah Province; Habib Shahsavari, a commander in Mahabad and Piranshahr; Mohsen Karimi, who is held responsible for the beating to death of Mehrshad Shahidi, 19, in a detention centre; and Ahmad Kadem, for repression in the town of Izeh during which a 10-year-old was shot and killed.

“The Iranian regime are responsible for the brutal repression of the Iranian people and for exporting bloodshed around the world," UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.

"That’s why we have more than 300 sanctions in place on Iran, including on the IRGC in its entirety.

“The UK and our international partners are again making clear today that we will not overlook the regime’s brutal oppression.

"We will continue to take a range of action to hold the regime to account for its actions.”

The EU has put sanctions on eight people, and Ariantel, an Iranian mobile service provider, which “contributed to the telecoms surveillance architecture mapped out by the Iranian government to quash dissent and critical voices in Iran", it said.

Members of the Iranian Parliament, IRGC and the IRCG Co-operative Foundation, the body responsible for managing the IRGC’s investments and for funnelling money into the regime’s repression, are also included.

“The European Union and its member states urge the Iranian authorities to stop any form of violent crackdown against peaceful protests, cease their resort to arbitrary detentions as a means of silencing critical voices, and release all those unjustly detained," the EU said.

“The EU calls on Iran to end the practice of imposing and carrying out death sentences against protesters, reverse the death penalty sentences pronounced, as well as provide due process to all detainees.

"The EU also calls upon Iran to end the distressing practice of detaining foreign civilians with a view to making political gains.”

The US has also announced sanctions on the units implicated in the violent crackdown on protests, and announced the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Cyber Space as a designated entity.

"The United States condemns Iran’s continued human rights abuses and remains committed to supporting the people of Iran as they face the brutality of the Iranian regime, and demand respect for their fundamental freedoms," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

The UK, US and EU have announced co-ordinated and regular sanctions since nationwide protests first erupted over the death on September 16 of Mahsa Amini, 22, while in the custody of Iran’s morality police.

The Iranian-Kurdish woman was accused of wearing her headscarf improperly.

The protests, which are one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s regime since the 1979 revolution, have continued for months.

More than 500 people have been killed in demonstrations, according to human rights activists in Iran, while more than 19,700 have been detained by authorities amid a violent crackdown on dissent.

The UK has designated more than 70 Iranian officials and entities for human rights breaches since October 2022, with the total number of Iran-related designations amounting to more than 300.

The list includes the IRGC in its entirety, the Iranian prosecutor general and the morality police.

EU sanctions now apply to a total of 211 individuals and 35 entities. They consist of an asset freeze, a travel ban to the EU and a prohibition to make funds or economic resources available to those listed.

A ban on exports to Iran of equipment that might be used for internal repression and of equipment for monitoring telecoms is also in place.

Last month, the US took its criticism of Iran's handling of the issue one step further by imposing more sanctions on the country aimed at people and companies accused of breaching women’s rights during repression of protests.

Included in the sanctions are two prison officials, several companies that make equipment for Iranian law enforcement and the commander-in-chief of the Iranian army.

This month British-Iranian Vahid Beheshti marked the 50th day of his hunger strike outside the British Foreign Office.

He is calling on the UK to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist group.