The US administration under president Joe Biden has sanctioned the “morality police” of Iran. This took place after a 22 year old woman, Mahsa Amini, was detained and beaten by the same “morality police” which eventually led to her death.
Many Iranian women and Muslim women have taken it to the streets to protest against the alleged abuses and violence that have been taking place against the women of Iran.
Mahsa Amini’s case has led to waves of fury especially amongst women all over the world. Iran is seeing the burning of hijabs and anger of the protesters.
The US Department of the Treasury, on Thursday, sanctioned Iran’s “morality police”.
Seven leaders belonging to the Iranian security organizations that agrees on using violence from time to time to suppress peaceful protesters and the members of the Iranian civil society, women’s right activists, political dissidents and the members of the Iranian Baha’i community.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made a remark, “ Mahsa Amini was a brave and courageous woman. Her death due to the morality police is another example of brutality caused by the security forces of the Iranian regime against its own citizens.”
Adding to it, she said, “We condemn this brutal act in the strongest terms and call on the government of Iran to put an end to the violence it is causing against its female citizens and the ongoing crackdown on freedom to express and assemble.”
Earlier this week, an Iranian police official turned down the allegations that Mahsa Amini was beaten in custody.
Brigadier-General Hossein Rahimi, police chief of Tehran, said on Monday that Mahsa Amini was detained for wearing tight trousers and her headscarf improperly. However, the claims and reports that she was ill treated were not at all true.
“Cowardly accusations have been levelled against the police, which we will defer to the day of judgement, but is it possible to shut down the society’s security?” Rahimi asked.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, on Thursday, called on the judiciary to prosecute the people who were behind the spread of “false information and rumours”, so as to mitigate the outrage caused throughout the nation.
But at the same time, IRGC expressed their sympathy and good wishes to the family and the loved ones of Amini.
NetBlocks reported that there was a loss of connectivity on a national scale on Iran’s main mobile telephone provider and another company’s network
The individuals that are being targeted by the US sanctions which were imposed on Thursday will have their assets freezed. Not just the, even the entities in the United States of America and making it illegal for American citizens to do business with these targeted individuals.
Ever since the former US President, Donald Trump, withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal in 2018, Washington has been observed to pile sanctions on Iran’s capital city, Tehran.
The multilateral pact, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had seen Iran scale back its nuclear programme in exchange for a lifting of international sanctions against its economy.
However, multiple rounds of indirect negotiations to restore the agreement since US President Joe Biden took office in early 2021, have stalled.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Biden said “while the United States is prepared for a mutual return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action if Iran steps up to its obligations, the United States is clear: We will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons”.
Biden also mentioned the ongoing anti-government protests in Iran, saying his administration stood “with the brave citizens and the brave women of Iran who right now are demonstrating to secure their basic rights”.
Veteran journalist Christiane Amanpour says an interview with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was scrapped after he insisted she wear a headscarf, the focus of major protests in the country.
Intensity of Protests in Iran after the Death of Mahsa Amini:
Amini’s case has struck a chord with many across Iran, amid growing anger over civil liberties, as well as economic hardships linked to sanctions. To stop the unrest from spreading, internet access and mobile phone network connectivity have been severely restricted.
At least nine protesters have been killed to date, based on statements from Iran’s state run and semi-official media, according to the Associated Press news agency, although activist groups say the death toll is higher. A police officer and two members of a pro-government militia have also been killed.
The morality police – and Iran’s restrictive clothing laws – are rejected by a lot of Iranians. Her death while in custody has led to protests across Iran, the hacking of government websites and viral videos of women cutting off their hair or burning their headscarves.
