The United States sanctioned Iran's influential security chief on Thursday along with top military officers it accused of being behind a deadly crackdown on protests, ramping up Washington's standoff with Tehran as it weighs a potential attack.
The designation of Larijani cites his affiliation to the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Elevated to leadership of Iran's Supreme National Security Council last year, he is a veteran security and political insider of the theocracy.
Larijani, the treasury said in a statement, was "one of the first Iranian leaders to call for violence in response to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people."
"LARIJANI, Ali (Arabic: علی لاریجانی) (a.k.a. LARIJANI, Ali Ardeshir), Tehran, Iran; DOB 03 Jun 1958; POB Najaf, Iraq; nationality Iran; Additional Sanctions Information - Subject to Secondary Sanctions; Gender Male; Passport D10010646 (Iran) expires 05 Sep 2027 (individual) [IRAN-EO13876] (Linked To: KHAMENEI, Ali Husseini)," the entry on the US Treasury Department's website read.
Other sanctions targeted top officers in Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps including provincial commanders.
The Treasury also added 13 entities to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, including Fardis Prison and companies allegedly linked to US-sanctioned Iranian trade in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and the United Kingdom.
“The United States stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement.
“At the direction of President Trump, the Treasury Department is sanctioning key Iranian leaders involved in the brutal crackdown against the Iranian people. Treasury will use every tool to target those behind the regime’s tyrannical oppression of human rights.”
The United States is moving a carrier strike group toward the Persian Gulf as President Trump has mooted attacking the country for its killing of protestors.
At least 12,000 people have been killed in Iran in the largest killing in the country's contemporary history, much of it carried out on January 8-9 during an ongoing internet shutdown, senior government and security sources told Iran International.
"Elements of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have even attacked wounded protesters in one hospital in Ilam Province, firing tear gas and metal pellets into the hospital grounds and assaulting patients, family members, and medical workers," the treasury added.
"The officials sanctioned today—and their organizations—bear responsibility for the thousands of deaths and injuries of their fellow citizens as protests erupted in each of these provinces."
