New Zealand targets 40 Iranian officials with sanctions over protest response

On Wednesday, New Zealand imposed sanctions on dozens of Iranian ministers and officials over their alleged involvement in the violent crackdown by Iranian authorities on anti-regime protests last month.

The sanctions include travel bans on 40 officials allegedly responsible for human rights abuses in Iran, including Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib, Prosecutor-General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad, as well as members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced in a press release, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

“It has been horrifying to witness the brutal killing of thousands of protesters in Iran,” Peters said. “Iranians have the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and access to information. Those rights have been ruthlessly violated.”

The travel ban also targets three Iranian individuals believed to be involved in Iran’s “malign activity abroad.”

“Iran’s destabilizing activities are totally outside the norms of acceptable state behavior,” Peters added. “New Zealand will continue to act deliberately and alongside partners when we see actions that undermine international law and regional stability."

The Iranian Embassy in New Zealand responded quickly to Peters’ announcement, saying the move to impose travel bans was “politically motivated” and “based on misinformation.”

“Over the past two decades, a number of Western states have supported and enforced unlawful and coercive sanctions led by the United States against the Iranian people,” the embassy said in a statement. “These inhumane measures have directly affected the fundamental rights of ordinary Iranians.”

While the embassy reiterated the Iranian people’s right to peaceful assembly, it accused foreign actors, including the US and Israel, of instigating chaos and violence during last month’s protests.

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli