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Iran sanctions CIA, others over human rights violations, riots

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
31 Oct 2022 23:27

The Iranian Foreign Ministry announces new sanctions on 10 individuals and 4 US institutions for their role in the riots.

Iran sanctions US entities for their role in the riots

The Iranian government sanctioned four US institutions and 10 personnel, including the American spy agency, the CIA, for inciting riots in the Islamic Republic and interfering in its internal affairs, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced on Monday.

"Sanctions have been imposed on four American institutions and 10 individuals on charges of encouraging terrorist acts, which caused the recent riots in the country," the Foreign Ministry said in the statement.

In addition to the CIA, Tehran also imposed sanctions on the US Chief of operations in the Middle East, Michael Corella, along with his assistant, adding that the sanctions imposed on the CIA are linked to its violations of human rights and its meddling in Iran's internal affairs.

The Iranian High Council for Human Rights criticized earlier Western countries and international human rights organizations for ignoring obvious evidence of human rights violations in the Islamic Republic, namely the non-reaction to the recent terrorist attack on the Shah-e-Cheragh shrine in Shiraz.

According to the statement, the CIA is accused of "committing activities against human rights, interfering in the internal affairs of Iran, promoting violence and chaos, inciting and encouraging terrorist acts, and countering Iran's efforts and activities in the fight against terrorism."

Earlier today, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani slammed Western countries, including Canada, for their provocative measures that fanned the flames of tensions and riots in Iran.

On the topic of human rights, Kanaani relayed that supposed supporters of human rights are abusing the matter of human rights as a ploy to enforce their own political opinions as superior over others as he spoke of an unofficial UN session, stating that the aim of such a convention is to exert political pressure on Iran.

This comment comes in light of the EU imposing sanctions earlier this month against three Iranian individuals and one entity over claims of developing and delivering Iranian drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.

In a joint statement last week, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry and the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) took a jab at the role of foreign spy agencies, especially the CIA, in puppeteering the riots in Iran in the past weeks.

The statement underlined that the CIA "played the main role” while being buddy-buddy with the espionage services of the UK, "Israel" and Saudi Arabia.

In spite of all these efforts combined, concluded the statement, the West “failed to attain none of their pre-planned goals,” as the “project of destroying Iran has faced a humiliating defeat.”

It's noteworthy that Iran's Foreign Ministry announced last week the imposing of sanctions on 20 EU figures and entities. The sanctions include EU MPs, as well as German and French media outlets, entities, and figures on account of supporting terrorism.

Iran's Foreign Ministry reiterated denouncing the EU's October 17 sanctions targeting Iranian individuals and entities, which it said was a clear example of meddling in Iran's internal affairs.

EU foreign ministers have lately imposed illegal asset freezes and travel bans linked to riots in Tehran on Iran's morality police, four Iranian public institutions, and 11 Iranian individuals.