The European Union on Tuesday sanctioned eight individuals and one entity tied to Iran for what it described as serious human rights violations and acts of transnational repression including assassinations and enforced disappearances of dissidents abroad.
The European Council said the designations target actors “responsible for committing serious human rights violations and abuses on behalf of Iranian state bodies outside of Iran,” including extrajudicial killings and arbitrary executions.
"Today’s listings confirm the EU’s concerns about transnational repression by Iranian state bodies through the use of proxy agents, in particular involving criminals and organized crime networks targeting dissidents and human rights defenders across the world, including on EU territory," it said in a statement.
Among those listed is the Zindashti Network, a criminal group linked to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), which the EU accused of carrying out assassinations of Iranian dissidents overseas.
The group's leader, Naji Ebrahim Sharifi-Zindashti, an Iranian narcotics trafficker and organized crime figure, was also sanctioned alongside five of his alleged associates.
The Council said the group was involved in the killings of Iranian dissident Masoud Molavi Vardanjani in Turkey and Saeed Karimian, the owner of Iran-focused satellite broadcaster Gem TV.
The EU also sanctioned Mohammad Ansari, identified as the leader of Unit 840 of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, for allegedly ordering the assassination of journalists critical of the Islamic Republic.
Reza Hamidiravari, an intelligence ministry officer said to oversee Zindashti’s state-backed operations, was also named.
Those designated face EU-wide asset freezes and travel bans. EU individuals and entities are also prohibited from making funds or resources available to them.
Last January, the US Treasury’s OFAC and UK government sanctioned Naji Ibrahim Sharifi‑Zindashti, leader of the Zindashti Network, along with 11 associated individuals for orchestrating assassinations, kidnappings, and murder‑for‑hire plots against Iranian dissidents. The sanctions hit Iranian officials involved in threats to kill Iran International TV journalists on British soil.
“The Iranian officials designated are members of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Unit 840, which was exposed in an ITV investigation into plots to assassinate two television presenters of Iran International news on UK soil,” the UK government said in a statement at the time.
