US Secretary of State Anthony Blake pledged to hold those accountable who incite or support the denial of Iranians’ rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly as the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Iranian leaders responsible for shutting down the internet and “violently suppressing” peaceful protests in the nation.
According to Blinken’s tweet, “The United States supports responsibility for all those who orchestrate and encourage actions that deprive the Iranian people their right to peaceful assembly and expression.”
In response to the suspension of Internet access in Iran and the escalating brutality against peaceful protestors, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today imposed penalties on seven prominent members of the Iranian security apparatus and government.
Undersecretary of the Treasury Brian Nelson was quoted in the statement as saying, “The right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly is essential to maintaining individual freedom and dignity.
He stated, “The United States will not hesitate to target individuals who direct and encourage such actions and strongly condemns the Iranian government’s shutdown of the internet and its harsh repression of peaceful dissent.
In addition, the European Parliament unanimously decided on Thursday to condemn the violence against Iranian protesters.
Josep Borrell, the head of foreign policy for the European Union, stated earlier on Thursday that the organisation was considering adding more sanctions against Iran, despite reports from rights organisations that thousands have been detained and hundreds have been injured in a crackdown by Iranian security forces.
Borrell said reporters in Prague that the next meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers will be used to consider adding more sanctions against Iran.
Iran’s demonstrations entered their fourth week on Thursday.
In addition to Baluchistan and Sanandaj, nighttime protests were held in a number of Iranian cities, including the capital Tehran, Shiraz, and the island of Kish. In Ahvas, posters of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were set on fire by the protesters.
In Kish, Iran’s most popular tourist destination, protests also broke out in the streets.
It is significant that Mahsa Amini, a young woman from the Iranian Kurdish city of Saqqaz, was killed after protests broke out in Iran.
Three days after being detained by the “morality police” and taken to a Tehran hospital, the young woman passed away on September 16.
Since her passing, frustration in the nation has grown over a number of problems, such as limitations on individual freedoms and stringent clothing requirements for women.
Blinken: We believe that those who deny the Iranian people their right to freedom should be held accountable.
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