WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 -- The U.S. State Department said Saturday that it had imposed sanctions on a brigadier general of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

The department said in a statement that it had blacklisted Brigadier General Hassan Shahvarpour, a commander in Khuzestan province, accusing him of commanding units blamed for killing protestors in Iran in November 2019.

Following the designation, the blacklisted individual, as well as his immediate family members, is ineligible for entry into the United States.

The latest move by the U.S. State Department came amid high tensions between Washington and Tehran following the U.S. killing of a top Iranian military commander and Iran's missiles attack on U.S. military bases in Iraq.