WASHINGTON DC – The US moved Thursday to tighten the screws on Iran, announcing sanctions on top security officials and shadow banking networks, including Ali Larijani, the Supreme Council for National Security secretary, accused of calling for lethal force against demonstrators.
The Treasury Department’s latest action comes amid mounting unrest inside Iran, where protesters have taken to the streets demanding basic rights, and the regime has responded with lethal crackdowns.
“This administration will use every tool to target those behind the regime’s tyrannical oppression of human rights,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “We stand firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice.”
Larijani, shadow banking, and Fardis prison
Larijani was among the first Iranian leaders to call for violent suppression of protesters, according to US officials.
The Treasury also designated 18 individuals and entities tied to “shadow banking networks” that launder revenue from Iranian petroleum and petrochemical sales, part of a broader effort to choke off the regime’s financial lifelines.
Additionally, Fardis Prison, infamous for the inhumane treatment of women detainees, was named in the sanctions.
Tommy Pigott, the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, framed the measures as symbolic support for the Iranian people: “The US stands with the Iranian people, who are protesting for their natural rights,” he said.
While largely symbolic – as most targets have no US-based assets – officials emphasized that the sanctions send a clear signal: financial networks that enable oppression carry consequences.
Regional diplomacy and US military calculations
As Washington applies economic pressure, Middle Eastern countries including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Egypt have been quietly engaged in diplomacy to avert US military strikes.
The human cost of the crackdown continues to mount. Rights groups estimate more than 2,600 protesters have been killed, while the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent reported the death of an Iranian Red Crescent staffer.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed President Donald Trump was briefed that 800 executions of protesters, reportedly scheduled for Tuesday, were halted.
“The President and his team have communicated to the Iranian regime that if the killing continues, there will be grave consequences,” Leavitt told reporters.
The UN Security Council, convened at US request, called for an end to executions and independent investigations into all protest-related deaths.
Martha Pobee, the UN assistant secretary general for political and peacebuilding affairs, said: “All deaths should be promptly, independently, and transparently investigated. Those responsible must be held accountable.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged Secretary-General António Guterres to condemn what he called “illegal US interventions against Iran.”
Sanctions as leverage
Senior US officials, speaking on Thursday to Kyiv Post, emphasized that the sanctions are a calibrated measure to pressure Tehran without escalating military conflict.
One described the approach as a “two-pronged strategy”: symbolic targeting of human rights violators and disruption of financial networks fueling the regime’s global and domestic abuses.
Another official added: “This sends a message not just to Tehran, but to anyone who profits from the regime’s violence: there are costs to enabling oppression, even if you don’t hold assets in the United States.”
For now, the US is threading a fine needle – applying targeted financial pressure while keeping diplomatic channels open and monitoring the protests inside Iran.
As Treasury Secretary Bessent noted, “We are sending a clear message: the world is watching, and those who profit from tyranny will face consequences.”
One senior US official concluded: “These sanctions are a lever, not an endpoint. Every dollar that lines the pockets of oppressors exposes them to real risk. That’s leverage we intend to use.”