Iran facing new U.S. sanctions

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Source: The Washington Post

The Obama administration on Thursday accused Iran of assisting Syria’s government in its brutal crackdown on demonstrators, listing names of Iranian security officials that the White House says helped train and arm Syrian police to attack peaceful protesters.

Sanctions unveiled by the Treasury Department identified Iran’s national police force and a pair of senior Iranian officials, one of whom allegedly traveled to Damascus in April to offer expertise on dealing with the country’s protest movement, White House documents showed. While the United States has previously accused Iran of backing the crackdown, Thursday’s statement was the first to provide specific names and dates.

“We are exposing further Iran’s provision of its military and security forces to support the Syrian government’s ongoing violence and repression of the Syrian people,” said David S. Cohen, the department’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. Cohen said the moves build on weeks of previous sanctions intended to “end the use of wanton violence” by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The Iranian officials hit with sanctions included Ismail Ahmadi-Moghaddam, the chief of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces (LEF), and his deputy, Ahmad-Reza Radan. A Treasury statement accused Radan of traveling to Syria in April to provide “expert aid in the Syrian government’s crackdown on the Syrian people.”

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/national-security/iran-facing-new-us-sanctions/2011/06/29/AGKOYSrH_story.html

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1. Yawn. nt