By Daphne Psaledakis
WASHINGTON, Jan 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Iranian officials it accused of being behind the crackdown on protests and said it was tracking Iranian leaders' funds being wired to international banks, as President Donald Trump keeps the pressure on Tehran.
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on the Secretary of the Supreme Council for National Security as well as Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and law enforcement forces commanders, accusing them of being architects of the crackdown.
The U.S. also imposed sanctions on Fardis Prison, where the State Department said women had "endured cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a video on Thursday said Washington's message to Iran's leaders was clear: "U.S. Treasury knows, that like rats on a sinking ship, you are frantically wiring funds stolen from Iranian families to banks and financial institutions around the world. Rest assured, we will track them and you."
"But there's still time, if you choose to join us. As President Trump has said, stop the violence and stand with the people of Iran."
U.S. STANDS BEHIND IRANIAN PEOPLE, BESSENT SAYS
Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran's rulers have blamed their longtime foes the U.S. and Israel for fomenting the unrest.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also said on Thursday the government was trying to address some of the economic problems that first spurred the protests, saying it intended to tackle issues of corruption and foreign exchange rates and that this would improve purchasing power for poorer people.
The unrest started with protests over soaring prices before turning into one of the biggest challenges to the clerical establishment since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The U.S.-based HRANA rights group says it has so far verified the deaths of 2,435 protesters and 153 government-affiliated individuals.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene on behalf of protesters in Iran, where the clerical establishment has cracked down hard on nationwide unrest since December 28.
"The United States stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice," Bessent said. "Treasury will use every tool to target those behind the regime’s tyrannical oppression of human rights."
The Treasury also imposed sanctions on 18 people it accused of involvement in laundering the proceeds of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical sales to foreign markets as part of "shadow banking" networks of sanctioned Iranian financial institutions.
Thursday's action is the latest move targeting Tehran since Trump restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, which includes efforts to drive its oil exports to zero and help prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Doina Chiacu ; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Alison Williams)
