The US has imposed sanctions on two Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps over their alleged involvement in human rights abuses against the country’s protesters and political prisoners. On Tuesday, the State Department said in a statement that Masoud Safdari and Ali Hemmatian, whom it described as IRGC interrogators, would be barred from entering the United States.
It further accused both officials of being involved in a violation of human rights and tortures. Moreover, Biden’s top diplomat Antony Blinken took to Twitter and stated that Washington would continue to hold the culprits accountable. The announcement comes as Tehran and Washington are at an impasse over rejoining the historic 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal in exchange for relief in US sanctions on Tehran.
More:
- US Sanctions Chinese, Russian Firms Over Iran Dealings
- Iran Nuclear Deal: US Sanctions Will Not Be Lifted For Talks
In 2018, the former US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the historic pact and reimposed crippling sanctions. The Iranian regime has rejected Biden’s demand that it returns to full compliance with the nuclear pact first, instead of calling on the US to make the first move as it was a party that first withdrew from the agreement.
Domestically, the newly-elected president is facing numerous challenges over his decision to rejoin the pact and diplomatically re-engaging with Tehran. On Tuesday, as many as a hundred congressional leaders from both Democratic and Republican parties urged the Biden administration to seek an agreement with an Iranian regime that is comprehensive enough to address all the threats posed by Tehran.
In response, the Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif described 2015’s nuclear pact brokered by the Obama administration as the “comprehensive plan.” He said, “It has been implemented only by Iran. Instead of posturing, US & E3 – UK, Germany, and France – must finally live up to their commitments made, but never fulfilled.”
