US sanctions 3 Iranian security officials over crackdown on protesters

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US sanctioned three Iranian security officials Wednesday for the ongoing crackdown on protests that were sparked by the killing of Mahsa Amini in September.

The blacklistings include officials who are overseeing a "particularly severe security response" in two predominantly Kurdish cities, Sanandaj and Mahabad, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

They include Sanandaj Gov. Hassan Asgari, and Alireza Moradi, the head of the Law Enforcement Forces in the city.

Moradi led the effort to crack down on protests in the city, and Asgari attempted to blame the death of a protester on a drug overdose, said the Treasury Department.

Mohammad Taghi Osanloo, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' Ground Forces commander for Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, which includes the city of Mahabad, was also sanctioned. The agency said West Azerbaijan province is one of the corps' "most important commands."

“The Iranian regime is reportedly targeting and gunning down its own children, who have taken to the street to demand a better future,” said Brian Nelson, the Treasury Department's top financial intelligence official. “The abuses being committed in Iran against protestors, including most recently in Mahabad, must stop.”

Iran has been roiled by deadly protests since September after the death of Amini at the age of 22, who was arrested by the morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic dress code.

Amini died in police custody with the government blaming her death on a health condition, an explanation that has been roundly rejected by her family and demonstrators who maintained she was murdered by police.

Mahabad, in particular, has been the site of a violent effort by security forces to crack down on anti-government demonstrations with videos on social media appearing to show a large contingent of government forces, including the Revolutionary Guard, to quell the unrest.

Sanandaj, in Iran's northwestern Kurdistan province and Amini's hometown, has also seen persistent government efforts to halt demonstrations.