The United States of America announced a series of new sanctions against officials and entities in Iran, including the leaders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, against the background of the protests taking place in the country. Britain and the European Union countries also announced a series of new sanctions against Iran, despite a dispute between the members of the Union regarding targeting the Revolutionary Guard.

The US Treasury stated that the new sanctions included the Cooperative Foundation of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and five members of its board of directors, in addition to the Deputy Minister of Intelligence and Security, and four senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guards in Iran.

The ministry stated in a statement that the measure, which was taken in coordination with Britain and the European Union, targets a major economic pillar of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, considering that it is funded by the brutal suppression of the protests, as the statement put it.

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said that his country remains committed to supporting the Iranian people in their demands for human rights and fundamental freedoms, stressing that it will continue to work with its partners to hold the Iranian regime accountable for violence, sham trials, executions of demonstrators and other methods of repression, according to the text of the statement.

The US State Department also said today that the new sanctions on Iran, which were imposed in coordination with US allies, target those responsible for suppressing the demonstrators.

Washington targeted the former Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps through various sanctions authorities, but it was targeted through the human rights sanctions authority today, Monday.

Monday's sanctions freeze any assets in the United States of those targeted, and Americans are generally prohibited from doing business with them.

Those who engage in certain transactions with these persons also face penalties.

Britain

In turn, Britain announced today a new package of sanctions against more Iranian individuals and entities, and denounced what it called the violence practiced by the country's authorities against its people, including the execution of the British-Iranian citizen Ali Reza Akbari on January 14.

The new British sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans and target two entities and five officials, including Iran's deputy public prosecutor, Ahmad Fazelian.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said, in a statement, that those sentenced today are judicial figures who use the death penalty for political purposes, and gang members who beat protesters in the streets.

The sanctions imposed by Britain today, Monday, also include Kumrat Heydari, commander of the ground forces of the Iranian army, and Hossein Najat, deputy commander-in-chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, as well as the Basij militia and its deputy commander, Salar Abnoush.

Sanctions were also imposed on the Basij Cooperative Foundation, which is linked to the Basij militia, and Qassem Rezaei, the deputy commander of Iran's law enforcement forces.

Britain will thus have imposed 50 new penalties against Iran since the death of the young Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of the morality police last September, according to the Foreign Office.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly: Those who have been sentenced today are judicial figures who use the death penalty for political purposes (Reuters)

European Union

For its part, the Swedish presidency of the European Union said that the Union's foreign ministers had approved a new package of sanctions against Iran.

And she added, in a tweet on Twitter, that the sanctions against Iran target those who lead the repression, as she put it

The Swedish presidency made it clear that the European Union strongly condemns what it called the brutal and disproportionate use of force by the Iranian authorities in the face of peaceful demonstrators.

Without giving more details.

Sources told Reuters, last week, that the bloc's foreign ministers will add 37 names to the European Union's list of individuals and entities subject to sanctions due to human rights violations in Iran, making the list of European sanctions against Iran currently includes 60 punishments.

A European statement said that the new sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities include freezing assets, banning travel to the European Union, and banning the provision of funds to those on the list.

A ban was also placed on the export of equipment to Iran that could be used for internal repression and communications monitoring equipment.

The European Union urged the Iranian authorities to stop what it described as a violent crackdown on peaceful protests.

European Union Foreign Policy Commissioner Josep Borrell said that the views of the members of the Union differ regarding the placement of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on the European sanctions list, and that the matter must be studied before taking a decision, noting that the Revolutionary Guards cannot be classified as a terrorist organization without a court ruling.

Iranian warning

On the other hand, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian called on all European countries to move away from what he described as unconstructive and illogical positions, and not to take steps that could have serious repercussions, as he put it.

The Iranian minister added, in a statement, that if European countries take a decision against a sovereign institution such as the Revolutionary Guards, they will witness a strong and effective response from Tehran, as he put it.

Iran accuses Western powers of fomenting unrest that followed Amini's death, which security forces met with violence that led to deaths.