US sanctions Iranian minister Eskandar Momeni over crackdown on protests after EU action

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions against Iran 's interior minister Eskandar Momeni, accusing him of repressing nationwide protests that have challenged Tehran's theocratic government, AP reported.

The administration claims that Momeni has overseen Iran's law enforcement forces, which it says are responsible for the deaths of thousands of peaceful protesters during the crackdowns on dissent across the country.

The latest series of penalties by the United States come just a day after European Union also targeted high-ranking officials of the country, including Momeni, Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi Azad, as well as Iman Afshari, a presiding judge, the agency report said.

“They ​were all involved ‌in the violent repression of peaceful protests and the arbitrary arrest of political ⁠activists and ​human rights ​defenders,” according to the European Union.

What led to the violent crackdown?

The widespread protests in Iran began in late December, driven by deepening economic woes, before they broadened into a challenge to the Islamic Republic, the agency said.

The crackdown soon followed, which activists say has killed more than 6,000 people. Iranian officials and state media repeatedly refer to the demonstrators as “terrorists,” causing outage across the globe as Iranians from different parts of the world showed support for the demonstrators.

Multiple sanctions

On Friday, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets also imposed sanctions on Babak Morteza Zanjani, an Iranian investor who is accused of stealing billions of dollars from Iranian oil revenue for the benefit of the Iranian government.

Meanwhile, two digital asset exchanges linked to Zanjani were penalized too for, as they are accused of processing large volumes of funds, AP reported.

In view of the events, The EU has agreed to list Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, in a largely symbolic move that adds more pressure on Tehran.

The latest US sanctions include the secretary of the Iran's Supreme Council for National Security, whom the Treasury Department accuses of being among the first officials to call for violence against Iranian protesters.

The penalties also target a total of 18 individuals and companies accused of money laundering, diverting funds from the sales of Iranian oil to foreign markets through a shadow banking network of sanctioned Iranian financial institutions, agency said.

US says it will keep targeting Iranian networks

Meanwhile, the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department “will continue to target Iranian networks and corrupt elites that enrich themselves at the expense of the Iranian people.”

Among other measures, the sanctions bar the people and companies from accessing any property or financial assets held in the United States, restrict their ability to travel to America and prohibit US businesses and citizens from doing engaging in business transactions with them, AP reported.