December 8 On the 8th, the U.S. government announced sanctions against an Iranian official and a university on the grounds that they were related to the “Quds Brigade” of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran.
In a statement on the same day, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions against Hassan Illou, Iran’s representative of Houthi in Yemen, and Mustafa International University in Iran.
The statement said that Illu, as an officer of the Al-Quds Brigade, has supported the organization in providing weapons and training to Houthis in recent years, while Mustafa International University has been used by the Al-Quds Brigade as a platform for intelligence collection and recruitment.
The United States also announced sanctions against a Pakistani citizen operating in Iran on the grounds of his participation in the “Quds Brigade”-related operations.
According to the statement, assets of the sanctioned party will be seized in the United States or controlled by the United States, and U.S. citizens will not be allowed to conduct transactions with them, and foreign financial institutions or individuals will also be at risk of sanctions if they conduct transactions with or provide support to the sanctioned party.
In April 2019, the U.S. government listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran and its subordinate Al-Quds Brigade as a terrorist organization.
In accordance with the comprehensive agreement on Iran’s nuclear issue reached in July 2015 between Iran and the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany, Iran promised to limit its nuclear program and the international community lifted sanctions against Iran.
In May 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement, and then restarted and added a series of sanctions against Iran. In response, Iran has suspended the implementation of some provisions of the Iran nuclear agreement in stages since May 2019.
