US sanctions Iranian operatives over terrorist plots

 The United States (US) has sanctioned members and associates of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard and its external operations branch, accusing them of being involved in terrorist plots against former US government officials, US-Iranian nationals, and Iranian dissidents.

The US Treasury Department, the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, said that the move targeted three individuals and a corporation linked with the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps)-Quds Force in the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey, as well as two top members of the IRGC's Intelligence Organisation involved in external deadly operations against civilians and journalists.

The US Treasury added in a statement that among the five individuals were Mohammed Reza Ansari, a Quds Force member who had backed its activities in Syria, and Iranian citizen Shahram Poursafi, who tried to assassinate two former US government officials.

The US also sanctioned Hossein Hafez Amini, a dual Iranian and Turkish national based in the Republic of Turkey, for allegedly assisting the Quds Force's covert operations, including kidnapping and assassination plots against Iranian dissidents, through his Turkey-based airline, Rey Havacilik Ithalat Ihracat Sanayi Ve.

Sanctions were also imposed on the Turkey-based airline. The US Treasury Department also announced that it had imposed sanctions on two individuals associated with the IRGC's Intelligence Organisation, which it described as a domestic and international unit focused on targeting journalists, activists, dual Iranian nationals, and people who oppose abuses and human rights violations committed by the Iranian authorities.

Rouhallah Bazghandi, the former head of the Intelligence Organization's counterespionage section, and Reza Seraj, the Intelligence Organization's chairman, were named by the Treasury Department. 

The US sanctions have barred the property of the five individuals and the firm subject to US jurisdiction. Furthermore, engaging in certain transactions can lead to "secondary sanctions" under which the US may penalise non-US people and corporations.