U.S. imposes sanctions on Iranian officers, IRGC Cooperative Basis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The USA on Monday imposed sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Cooperative Basis and senior Iranian officers, stepping up strain on Tehran over its crackdown on protests.

The transfer is the most recent Washington response to the Iranian crackdown on unrest after the dying of younger Iranian Kurdish lady Mahsa Amini in morality police custody in September.

The U.S. Treasury Division in an announcement mentioned it designated the IRGC Cooperative Basis, which it described as an financial conglomerate established by senior officers of the group to handle its investments and presence in sectors of Iran’s economic system.

Additionally focused have been 5 of its board members, the deputy minister of intelligence and safety, and 4 senior IRGC commanders in Iran, the Treasury mentioned.

Monday’s motion targets a “key financial pillar of the IRGC, which funds a lot of the regime’s brutal suppression; in addition to senior safety officers coordinating Tehran’s crackdown on the nationwide and provincial ranges,” the Treasury mentioned.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis; modifying by Jonathan Oatis)