Trump administration targets senior Iranian officials with new sanctions

WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Trump administration on Friday announced new sanctions against a number of Iranian officials, including Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, amid the unrest across the Middle Eastern country.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement that Momeni oversees Iran's law enforcement forces, which have been involved in actions against demonstrators.

Protests that began in late December over economic hardship expanded into broader challenges to Iran, reportedly having resulted in many deaths. Tehran has blamed the unrest on the United States and Israel.

Sanctions also target Iranian investor Babak Morteza Zanjani and other officials, as well as two related digital asset exchanges.

The sanctions freeze any U.S.-based assets of those designated, restrict travel to the United States, and prohibit Americans and U.S. companies from conducting business with them.

The European Union on Thursday also sanctioned Momeni and some other Iranian officials.