The announcement of Britain’s new sanctions package coincided with the foreign secretary’s call on the international community to hold Iranian regime officials accountable for the suppression of protests.
Britain’s Foreign Office announced on Monday, February 2, the addition of the Iranian regime’s Law Enforcement Command (FARAJA) and 10 other regime officials and figures to its sanctions list.
According to Yvette Cooper, Britain’s foreign secretary, these sanctions target individuals who have been involved in “human rights violations in Iran.”
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Earlier, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper had announced Britain’s commitment to imposing sanctions aimed at holding Iranian regime officials accountable for the violent crackdown on recent peaceful protests.
On the eve of announcing the new list, Cooper said that in recent weeks the people of Iran, simply for exercising their right to peaceful protest, faced brutal and cruel repression and demonstrated great courage.
Referring to horrific images and reports published about the suppression of protests and recalling London’s commitment to holding Iranian regime officials accountable, she said that a new sanctions package had been announced and that Iran’s regime had been warned about additional measures that may be considered.
The announcement of Britain’s new sanctions package coincided with the foreign secretary’s call on the international community to hold Iranian regime officials accountable for suppressing protests.
Cooper emphasized that the new sanctions package is aligned and coordinated with sanctions announced by the United States and the European Union.
She also noted that these sanctions are consistent with the resolutions and commitments of Group of Seven foreign ministers and senior European Union representatives condemning the deliberate use of violence against protesters.
According to a new statement by Britain’s Foreign Office, the new sanctions package, in addition to the Iranian regime’s Law Enforcement Command (FARAJA), also includes the following individuals:
- Eskandar Momeni, the Iranian regime’s interior minister
- Mohammad Reza Hashemifar, commander of the Law Enforcement Force in Lorestan Province
- Ahmad Amini, commander of the Noor Police unit
- Mohammad Ghanbari, head of FARAJA’s Criminal Investigation Police and former commander of the Law Enforcement Force in Sistan and Baluchestan Province
- Ahmad Darvish-Goftar, judge of Branch One of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht
- Mehdi Rasekhi, judge of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht
- Mohammad Zamani, one of the commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Golestan Province
- Seyed Majid Feyz Jafari, commander of FARAJA’s Public Security Police
- Yadollah Bouali, commander of the IRGC’s Fajr Corps in Fars Province
- Babak Zanjani, a former economic defendant
The British Foreign Office statement said that under the Iran sanctions package adopted in 2023, the Iranian regime’s Law Enforcement Command is suspected of involvement in “serious human rights violations,” including violations of rights such as freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. It also specifically emphasized the role of this law enforcement body in carrying out or assisting the deadly suppression of protesters during the January 2026 protests.
Eskandar Momeni, as interior minister and deputy to the commander-in-chief within FARAJA, has also been added to the list on charges of serious human rights violations during the suppression of the January 2026 protests and the previous year.
The other military figures added to the list have largely been sanctioned on suspicion of involvement in serious human rights violations, suppressing protesters, violating freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, violently confronting citizens to force compliance with compulsory hijab, and involvement in sexual violence against protesters and detainees.
Mehdi Rasekhi and Ahmad Darvish-Goftar, two judges of the Revolutionary Court in Rasht, have also been added to Britain’s sanctions list on suspicion of abusing their positions as judges and assisting in serious human rights violations in Iran.
Finally, Babak Zanjani is accused of providing or facilitating financial services or supplying monetary and economic resources to those ordering and carrying out widespread human rights violations in Iran, and for this reason has been included on Britain’s sanctions list.
Under Britain’s newly announced sanctions, these 10 individuals, along with FARAJA, are subject to travel bans and asset freezes.
Britain has consistently criticized human rights violations in Iran and recently, alongside its international allies, was among the initiators of a special session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, a meeting that was held on January 23, 2026.
