Trump Administration Sanctions 5 Iranian High Officials Following Brutal Actions Against Protesters

JAKARTA - The Donald Trump administration has confirmed that it will impose sanctions on five high-ranking Iranian officials who it believes are responsible for "brutal crackdowns on peaceful demonstrators" in the country.

"Our message to the Iranian people is clear: Your demands are legitimate," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a video on social media about the action.

"You are demonstrating for a noble cause, and the United States supports you and your efforts to peacefully oppose the mismanagement and brutality of the regime," he continued, as reported by ABC News, Friday, January 16.

Security officials targeted included Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, who the Treasury Department said was "one of the first Iranian leaders to call for violence in response to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people."

The commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Law Enforcement Forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were also targeted.

"The officials sanctioned today -- and their organizations -- are responsible for thousands of deaths and injuries of their own citizens when protests erupted in each of these provinces," the US Treasury said.

As part of the sanctions, the US State Department said the US also designated the "infamous" Fardis Prison as a target of sanctions.

"As brave Iranian people continue to fight for their basic rights, the Iranian regime has responded with violence and ruthless repression against its own people," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

"We will continue to deny the regime access to the global financial network and banking system while they continue to oppress the Iranian people," he continued.

As of Wednesday, 18 days of protests and crackdowns by security forces had left 2,615 dead and 18,470 people arrested, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Among those killed were 13 children and 14 civilians who were not participating in the demonstration.

On the government side, HRANA said it had confirmed the deaths of 153 members of the security forces.

Another 882 additional deaths were under investigation.