The UK and European Union on Monday toughened their sanctions against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as part of new restrictions on Tehran for human rights violations.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced a travel ban and assets freeze on four individuals and the IRGC “in its entirety”.
Brussels added eight individuals, including a hardline lawmaker, a regional IRGC commander and officials at its investment arm, to its sanctions list, as well as mobile operator Ariantel.
The telecoms firm is accused of having helped the authorities track down protesters.
Cleverly said the ban was made in coordination with the EU and the United States, which have both ratcheted up their curbs on Iran in recent months after a hardline crackdown.
More than 70 Iranian officials and entities have been made subject to UK asset freezes and travel bans since October last year.
The latest involved four IRGC commanders “under whose leadership IRGC forces have opened fire on unarmed protesters resulting in numerous deaths, including of children”,“ the foreign office said.
They had also “arbitrarily detained and tortured protesters”, it added.
“The Iranian regime is responsible for the brutal repression of the Iranian people and for exporting bloodshed around the world,” Cleverly said.
“That’s why we have more than 300 sanctions in place on Iran, including on the IRGC in its entirety.”
