Speaking at the meeting held by the White House National Security Council (NSC) via teleconference, senior officials gave detailed information on the enactment of new sanctions that will take the fight against those who unjustly detained and held hostage US citizens in other countries.
At the meeting, it was stated that with the newly enacted sanctions, those who restrict the freedoms of US citizens can be held to account “more effectively”.
“Today we are announcing the first set of sanctions under this executive order against actors in Russia and Iran who have previously held or are holding hostages or who are wrongfully detaining Americans,” the officials said. used the phrase.
It was noted that the said sanctions would be directed against Russia’s Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
After the meeting, the Ministry of the Treasury made a written statement.
In a written statement shared by the U.S. Treasury Department, “The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the State Department simultaneously addressed four senior officials of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Agency regarding the taking hostage or wrongful arrest of U.S. citizens in Iran. Therefore, the decision was taken to impose sanctions.” it was said.
Today’s action was cited as the “first attempt” under Executive Order 14078 entitled “Increasing Efforts to Bring Hostages and Mistakenly Detained US Citizens Home”, which reaffirms the US government’s fundamental commitment to bringing US citizens held hostage abroad home.
“Today’s action targets senior officials and security services in Iran and Russia, who are responsible for the hostage taking or wrongful detention of US citizens abroad,” said Brian E. Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. used the phrases.
Within the scope of the sanctions against Iran, the assets of the senior officials of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization Ruhollah Bazghandi, Mohammad Kazemi, Mohammad Mehdi Sayyari and Mohammad Hasan Mohagheghi in the USA were confiscated, and it was decided to include those who have financial ties with these people. shared.