US, UK Sanction Opeatives Of Iran-Backed Al-Ashtar Brigades

A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, January 20, 2023.
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, January 20, 2023.

The United States, in coordination with the UK, imposed sanctions on four individuals in Iran for aiding the Bahrain-based, US-designated terrorist group al-Ashtar Brigades, the Treasury Department said in a statement on Tuesday.

The sanctions were imposed in coordination with Bahrain's government and allege that the targeted individuals "materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of" al-Ashtar Brigades.

The US action, taken in coordination with the Kingdom of Bahrain, underscores our collective commitment to disrupting Iran’s destabilizing forces and threats, particularly those which threaten our partners in the region and around the world,” Brian Nelson, US under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

The United States has been taking action against Iran-backed groups in the Middle East to reduce Tehran's influence in the region and to isolate its affiliates. It designated al-Ashtar Brigades a foreign terrorist organization in 2018.

In 2018, the government of Bahrain charged numerous individuals due to terrorism-related activities. A number of these individuals fled Bahrain to evade prison sentences and settled in Iran, which has long supported and continues to serve as a safe haven for terrorist groups.

In recent weeks, Washington and Tehran have also been at odds over the conflict in Gaza and its implications in the region with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen disrupting commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the US carrying out strikes against them.

(With reporting by Reuters)