State Department designates two Iranians for ‘involvement in gross violations of human rights’

The State Department on Tuesday designated two Iranians for their “involvement in gross violations of human rights” on the same day the U.S. pressed Tehran for information surrounding the abduction and likely death of former FBI agent Robert Levinson. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that he was designating Ali Hemmatian and Masoud Safdari, two interrogators with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), for “their involvement in gross violations of human rights, namely the torture and/or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment (CIDTP) of political prisoners and persons detained during protests in 2019 and 2020 in Iran.” 

The designation makes both Hemmatian and Safdari, as well as their immediate family members, ineligible for entry into the U.S.

“We will continue to consider all appropriate tools to impose costs on those responsible for human rights violations and abuses in Iran. We will also work with our allies to promote accountability for such violations and abuses,” said Blinken. “The United States will continue to support the rights of people in Iran and demand the Iranian government treat its people with respect and dignity.”

The designations come the same day that Blinken called on Iran to provide “credible answers” regarding Levinson’s probably death on the 14th anniversary of his disappearance. Levinson disappeared on Kish Island off the coast of Iran in 2007, and his family said in 2020 that he is believed to have died in Iranian custody based on information from former Trump administration officials. 

Tehran has maintained it had no involvement with Levinson’s disappearance.

The pressure campaign on Tehran comes as President Biden looks to renew negotiations on the Obama-era nuclear deal, from which former President Trump withdrew the U.S. in 2018. Biden has called on Iran to reduce its uranium enrichment to come back into compliance with the deal, but Tehran is demanding that the U.S. lift some sanctions before it opens negotiations.