New US sanctions on Iran

The United States has imposed new sanctions on Iran. President Joe Biden's administration has sanctioned a dozen officials in the country over their crackdown on protests that began in the wake of the death of Iranian teen.

Regarding the sanctions, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement that it has been 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran's morality police. Today, his family and many Iranians are mourning. We stand in solidarity with them.

He added that the United States is committed to standing by the people of Iran and holding accountable those responsible for the crackdown on protesters.

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The sanctions, announced on Wednesday (October 26), blacklisted at least 12 Iranian officials. Iran's notorious Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence chief Mohammad Kazemi and the governor of Sistan and Baluchistan provinces, Hossein Modares Khiabani, are also on the sanctions list.

Apart from this, two officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are on the blacklist. One of them is the police chief of Isfahan city. Apart from this, there are seven national and regional level prison officials in this list.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Kazemi has violently repressed popular protests in Iran since becoming head of the IRGC's intelligence agency in June.

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The IRGC and its Basij members used lethal weapons against the protesters. The US blamed Khiyabani, the governor of Sistan and Balochistan, for the September 30 shooting by security forces in Jahedan area, the capital of Balochistan province.

The US Treasury and State Departments have imposed sanctions on two Iranian intelligence officials. The two officials are accused of being involved in the training, recruitment and censorship of the Internet by the Iranian government.

Meanwhile, the terrorist group Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack on the Shia Muslim Dargah in the southern city of Shiraz, Iran. IS took responsibility for this attack with a statement on their Telegram channel. The militant group said an IS fighter opened fire at the Shah Cheragh shrine in the city of Shiraz.

On Wednesday (October 26) the Dargah named Shah Cherag was attacked. Iranian state media say at least 15 people were killed in the gunman's indiscriminate shooting. 40 people were injured.