US sanctions hit IRGC 'financiers' and organizers of shootings in Iran
Kyiv • UNN
The US has imposed extensive sanctions on Iranian officials for shooting protesters and for mass repression in the country.
On January 30, the US Department of the Treasury imposed a new package of sanctions against high-ranking officials of the Iranian regime and financial networks involved in the bloody suppression of protests and money laundering. This was reported on the official website of the ministry, writes UNN.
Details
The restrictions targeted Iran's Interior Minister, commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and for the first time, crypto exchanges that helped the regime circumvent global financial barriers.
Blow to security forces: responsibility for mass killings
A key figure on the sanctions list was Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni Kalagari, who directly commands the law enforcement forces responsible for the deaths of thousands of peaceful demonstrators. In addition, sanctions were imposed on IRGC commanders in Tehran and the provinces of Gilan, Hamadan, and Kermanshah, where the most brutal crimes were recorded: shooting unarmed people with live ammunition and extorting ransoms from families for the bodies of the deceased.
Instead of building a prosperous Iran, the regime has squandered oil revenues on nuclear weapons, missiles, and terror
He emphasized that corrupt elites are trying to transfer money stolen from the people to foreign banks, "like rats from a sinking ship," but Washington will resolutely block these channels.
Crypto exchanges and the regime's "shadow banker"
For the first time, two digital asset exchanges – Zedcex and Zedxion, registered in the UK – were sanctioned by the US. These platforms, according to intelligence, processed transactions totaling over $94 billion, a significant portion of which is linked to IRGC wallets. The operation of these networks was coordinated by Babak Morteza Zanjani – a well-known criminal investor whom the Iranian regime specifically released from prison to implement money laundering schemes.
Separately, the White House confirmed its support for internet freedom in Iran, facilitating citizens' access to communication tools bypassing government blockages.