The sanctions target a multibillion-dollar financial network that supports the Basij Resistance Force, a volunteer militia that works with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to recruit and train child soldiers, the US Treasury said.
“This vast network provides financial infrastructure to the Basij's efforts to recruit, train, and indoctrinate child soldiers who are coerced into combat under the IRGC's direction,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The new sanctions come just a day after eight Iranian newspapers published a rare joint editorial criticizing the US sanctions as a human rights violation, targeting the Iranian civilian population. “Trade restrictions, blockades, embargoes, freezing of assets and other economic sanctions are incompatible with the Charter of the United Nations,” the editorial said.
Source: rt.com
