Trump admin imposes sanctions against Iranian officials behind deadly crackdown on protesters

The moves come after President Donald Trump announced Monday that countries doing business with Iran will face a 25% tariff “on any and all business being done with the United States of America.”

Published: January 15, 2026 5:28pm

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and the State Department announced new sanctions Thursday against Iranian officials they believe were behind the deadly crackdown on anti-regime protesters in Tehran recently.

Iran has reportedly killed at least 2,000 anti-regime protesters so far as demonstrations engulf the Middle Eastern country. Some foreign leaders have predicted that Iran's regime is in its final days. 

The Treasury Department said it has imposed sanctions on Iran's Secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security, along with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members and Law Enforcement Forces Commanders it believes are behind the attacks. 

“The United States stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. “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 State Department said it is sanctioning Iran's Fardis Prison for its treatment of female prisoners, who have endured "cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment."

"The regime continues to fund destabilizing and malign activities around the world, rather than investing in the welfare of its people at home," State Department spokesman Thomas Pigott said. "We will continue to deny the regime access to financial networks and the global banking system while it continues to oppress the Iranian people."

The moves come after President Donald Trump announced Monday that countries doing business with Iran will face a 25% tariff “on any and all business being done with the United States of America.”

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

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