US sanctions Iran's police chief for alleged crackdown

Jun 9, 2011, 15:26 GMT

Washington - The United States placed sanctions Thursday on Iran's top police official and three other entities for their alleged role in repressing Iranian citizens, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said.

The sanctions were placed on Iran's Law Enforcement Forces, its commander Ismail Ahmadi Moghadam, as well as on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Basij Resistance Force, a group of militants.

The sanctions freeze any assets belonging to Moghadam and the three organizations under US jurisdiction, and ban US citizens from engaging in business with them, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

Clinton said the sanctions were enacted because of ongoing 'brutal repression' of Iranian citizens, including the violent June 2009 crackdown against demonstrators.

'Today's sanctions reflect our commitment to hold accountable those governments and officials that violate human rights and deprive their citizens of the opportunities and future they deserve,' Clinton said in a statement issued while she was visiting the United Arab Emirates.

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