The Trump administration is imposing new visa restrictions on Iranian officials and telecommunications executives following the regime’s violent crackdown on nationwide protests, the US State Department announced on Wednesday.
In accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio “is taking steps to impose visa restrictions against 18 Iranian regime officials and telecommunications industry leaders, as well as their immediate family members," stated Tommy Piggott, the department’s principal deputy spokesperson.
The move comes as the Islamic Republic continues to face international condemnation for its handling of recent domestic unrest.
“The Iranian regime has unleashed violence and repression against tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators," Piggott stated.
The US official highlighted the regime's efforts to hide its actions from the global community through technological censorship.
“The regime imposed a near-total nationwide internet shutdown, unprecedented in scope and duration, that severely restricted independent documentation of abuses and cut Iranians off from the world," he added. “Even today, the regime continues to restrict the ability of Iranians to exercise their basic freedoms."
The new policy specifically targets individuals believed to be involved in serious human rights violations, including actions that undermine freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. With these latest designations, a total of 58 people are now subject to US visa restrictions under this measure.
Iran has acknowledged more than 3,000 deaths during the anti-regime protests, insisting that most were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders and attributing the violence to "terrorist acts".
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), however, has said the death toll is much higher. On February 1, the agency said its verified death counts increased to 6,425 adult protesters, 146 minors, and 57 non-participants, while the security force death count was 214.
The latest US sanctions follow the latest round of talks between the US and Iran, which was held Tuesday in Geneva.
Speaking to Fox News after that meeting, US Vice President JD Vance said that the talks "went well," but Iran has not accepted all of President Donald Trump's red lines.
Trump spoke to reporters on Monday and indicated that he would be indirectly involved in this round of talks with Iran, which he described as “very important".
“I would say they're bad negotiators, because we could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential, and we had to send the B-2s. I hope they're going to be more reasonable. They want to make a deal," he continued.
Responding to a reporter who asked whether he thinks a deal is next to impossible, Trump stated, “No, no. I think they want to make a deal. I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal. They want to make a deal."
Meanwhile, even as the sides met, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei published a series of threatening posts in English on social media.