US Imposes New Sanctions on Iran

Continuing its “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, the Trump administration announced new sanctions on several Iranian officials on Thursday. The new measures were over alleged human rights abuses and targeted judges who the US said presided over the case of an Iranian wrestler who was recently executed.

The US also sanctioned an Iranian court involved in the wrestler’s case and two prisons where torture has allegedly taken place. The wrestler, Navid Afkari, was convicted of killing a security guard during anti-government protests in Iran in 2018.

Earlier this week, the US implemented sanctions on Iran meant to replace a UN arms embargo that is set to expire in October. The Trump administration did this under the guise of “snapback” sanctions agreed to in the 2015 nuclear deal. But the US has no international authority to enforce these measures since it pulled out of the agreement in 2018, as even close allies like the UK, Germany, and France have pointed out.

The US slapped sanctions on individuals in Iran’s defense ministry and other involved in the country’s various weapons programs. The Trump administration also threatened to sanction any country that trades weapons with Iran. This was after a failed bid at the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo on Iran.