The State Department this weekend confirmed it has imposed sanctions on an Iranian military general who was in charge of units blamed for shooting and killing almost 150 protesters in southwest Iran.
Citing “multiple” media reports and information provided by Iranian people under a Department of Justice tip line, State Department officials accused military forces under Brig. Gen. Hassan Shahvarpour of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of “gross violations of human rights” in November when they put down a protest in Mahshahr, a region in southwestern Iran.
The IRGC soldiers under the command of Gen. Shahvarpour surrounded protestors with armored vehicles then began firing machine guns into the crowd. When some of the protestors took cover in a nearby marsh, IRGC personnel set it ablaze, State Department officials said.
The sanctions mean Gen. Shahvarpour and his family members will be barred from entering the United States. They demonstrate “the United States’ continued commitment to the Iranian people to support their demands for accountability from Iranian officials who committed serious human rights abuses,” said Morgan Ortagus, a State Department spokesperson.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.