The United States has imposed sanctions on three more Iranian security officials for their violations of human rights.
The US Treasury Department said on Wednesday the sanctions target two officials in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj and one in the city of Mahabad in Western Iran.
“Today, we are taking additional action as Iranian security forces, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces, reportedly are stepping up their violent crackdown on peaceful anti-government protests in Iran’s Kurdistan Province and surrounding areas,” said Treasury in a statement of Wednesday.
Sanandaj Governor Hassan Asgari as well as commander of the city's law enforcement forces Alireza Moradi have been hit by the new sanctions.
Moradi has reportedly ordered the mass arrest of protesters in Sanandaj, said the Treasury.
Also targeted was Mohammad Taghi Osanloo, an IRGC ground forces commander in another Kurdish city, Mahabad, where the Islamic Republic deployed additional forces to crack down on protesters, added the Treasury.
The sanctions freeze any US assets of those designated and generally bar US citizens from dealing with them.
“The Iranian regime is reportedly targeting and gunning down its own children, who have taken to the street to demand a better future,” Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence said in a statement.
“The abuses being committed in Iran against protesters, including most recently in Mahabad, must stop,” he stressed.
Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.