The United States has imposed new sanctions on Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, prison directors, and individuals involved in an alleged "crackdown" on anti-Iran protests, according to the US Treasury in a Wednesday statement, which also revealed that they have sanctioned Russian entities and individuals. 

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"Today, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating 10 Iranian officials for the brutal ongoing crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran, as well as two Iranian intelligence actors and two Iranian entities involved in the Iranian government’s efforts to disrupt digital freedom," the Treasury said.

The sanctions target IRGC Commander, Mohammad Kazemi and Deputy IRGC commander Abbas Nilforushan, in addition to provincial officials in the province of Sistan and Baluchistan, as well as directors of several prisons across the country.

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The list of Russian individuals who have been sanctioned by Washington are  Igor Chaika, son of former Prosecutor General of Russia Yury Chaika; Moldovan tycoon Vladimir Plahotniuc; Russian singer Jasmin and her husband and Moldovan politician Ilan Shor, as well as his political party; among others.

Interestingly enough, despite the sanctions, Russian and Iranian exports have been doing really well compared to the punishment Washington has been attempting. 

Last week, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi announced that Iran saw an increase of 40% in its exports in 2021 and a 13% growth in non-oil exports in 2022. 

"Exporters and producers are the officers of the sanctions war, and they should strive to win this battle,” the President said at a ceremony on National Day of Export on October 21, noting that all efforts should be taken towards production and development of basic technology.

A September report also revealed that Russian exports to Germany alone increased over the first seven months of this year by 32.6% in annual terms, amounting to $27.9 billion.

The Russian trade representative in Germany, Andrey Sobolev, estimates that imports of fuel and energy items increased by 40.5% from January to July. Russian gold purchases have increased by more than ten times, while silver imports have increased by roughly five times as much. The EU country has also boosted purchases of other metals from Russia, including copper, aluminum, and nickel.