US imposes sanctions on Iranian officials for abuse of women, girls

WASHINGTON — The United States said on Wednesday it had imposed sanctions on two senior Iranian prison officials responsible for serious human rights abuses against women and girls as it marked International Women's Day.

In a statement, the Treasury Department said it had also put sanctions on Iran's top army commander, a senior official in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and on three Iranian companies and their leaders who have enabled law enforcement repression.

"The United States, along with our partners and allies, stand with the women of Iran, who advocate for fundamental freedoms in the face of a brutal regime that treats women as second-class citizens and attempts to suppress their voices by any means," Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in the statement.

The Treasury described its actions as the 10th round of such sanctions targeting Iranian officials since Tehran's crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted after Mahsa Amini, a woman from Iran's Kurdistan region, died in September in the custody of the morality police who enforce strict dress codes. — Reuters