In brief
- The Australian government has sanctioned seven senior Iranian officials and four entities.
- The sanctions include financial penalties and travel bans.
Australia has announced it will enforce specific financial restrictions and travel prohibitions against high-ranking Iranian officials involved in the repression of women and girls as part of the regime’s societal crackdown.
In a statement on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Penny Wong revealed that sanctions have been placed on seven individuals and four entities from Iran. This move comes as a response to Iran’s persistent “brutal” suppression of its populace and the unjust imprisonment of foreign nationals.
According to independent sources, Iranian forces have been responsible for the deaths of over 30,000 people since protests erupted nationwide in January. However, official numbers from the Iranian government claim a significantly lower count.
Among the sanctioned officials is Eskandar Momeni, the interior minister and deputy commander in chief of law enforcement forces, who has been linked to the fatalities of protesters.
Ruhollah Nasab is another prominent figure targeted by these sanctions. He is implicated for orchestrating the deployment of 80,000 personnel to enforce the compulsory hijab policy for Iranian women and monitor dress codes in educational institutions, public areas, and online platforms.
The sanctions will also target Iran’s shadow banking system, which allows it to fund proxies such as Hamas — which Australia considers a terrorist organisation — and support its ballistic missile program.
The Albanese government has so far imposed more than 230 sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities.
The announcement on Tuesday was made alongside the United Kingdom’s sanctions on Iran.
Wong said Australia will continue its work with international partners to hold the regime to account for its “egregious campaign of oppression and destabilisation”.
“Australia continues to stand with the brave people of Iran against a brutal, oppressive regime,” she said.
Although the sanctions target Iran’s destabilising actions throughout the Middle East, they are not in direct response to the retaliatory strikes in the US-led war.
The strikes launched by the US and Israel have resulted in the effective closure of one of the world’s most important oil corridors, the Strait of Hormuz, sending the price of fuel soaring globally.
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