Shafaq News- Washington

The United States imposed sanctions on four individuals and nine entities linked to Iran, accusing them of helping Iranian businessman Babak Zanjani evade sanctions through financial services, gold trading, digital assets, and transportation businesses, the Treasury Department stated on Friday.

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the sanctions cover Zanjani's Iran-based "Dot One" conglomerate, including Dot One Value Creation Group, DotOne Gold Company, DotOne Rail Company, DotOne Barter Company, DotOne Airlines Company, and DotOne Trip. According to the Treasury, the network obscured ownership, laundered revenue, and facilitated covert fund transfers for Iran, including financial support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The measures also target Istanbul-based Zedpay Finansal Sistem Ve Hizmetleri, Dubai-based Zedx DMCC and BZ Diamond FZCO, along with their executives and associates, whom OFAC accused of providing financial, technological, or material support to Zedcex and Zedxion.

Meanwhile, the European Union imposed sanctions targeting five judges from Iran's Revolutionary Courts accused of handing down death sentences, lengthy prison terms, flogging, and other punishments against political dissidents, human rights activists, and religious minorities, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi. The measures also target Iranian hacker Nima Salehi, founder of the Ashiyane cyber group, which the EU accused of working with Iran's Cyber Police (FATA) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to conduct cyberattacks against domestic opponents, reformists, and foreign institutions.

Those designations bring the EU's Iran human rights sanctions list to 269 individuals and 53 entities, all subject to asset freezes and travel bans, while the bloc also maintains restrictions on exports of equipment that could be used for internal repression.

🚫 The EU has imposed further sanctions against Iran over human rights violations.Those sanctioned include members of the judiciary and an Iranian hacker responsible for cyberattacks.The EU stands with the people of Iran.Read more: https://t.co/VKvt9tHR8P pic.twitter.com/3IPWNFbLXv

— EU Council (@EUCouncil) July 24, 2026

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based Iran Human Rights organization, warned that the collapse of the ceasefire and the resumption of the war could prompt Iranian authorities to intensify executions of political prisoners. He indicated that hundreds of political prisoners and protesters currently face charges carrying the death penalty, with around 100 already sentenced to death, including 70 inmates held in Dastgerd Prison in the central city of Isfahan. The organization urged negotiators to make Iran's “killing machine” a central issue in any talks with Tehran and said authorities have executed 24 people over protests that erupted in January since the war began, in addition to two others linked to the 2022-2023 protest movement.