US response to Iran protests expected to include new sanctions on those directly involved in crackdown

CNN

By Kaitlan Collins, CNN

The US is expected to issue new sanctions this week against law enforcement officials and those who are directly involved in the crackdown on protesters in Iran, a source familiar with the planned action told CNN.

President Joe Biden, who moved quickly to voice support for the demonstrators, issued an intentionally vague statement Monday promising further costs “on perpetrators of violence against peaceful protestors,” but a source told CNN that will be in the form of additional sanctions with more action likely to follow.

The effort to move quickly to respond to the protests sweeping Iran comes after some acknowledged that US officials were too hesitant to react when protests erupted in Iran in 2009. Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser who served in the Obama administration, told NBC this week that officials were concerned at the time that it would be counterproductive if the US was more vocal.

“What we learned in the aftermath of that is that you can overthink these things, that the most important thing for the United States to do is to be firm and clear and principled in response to citizens of any country demanding their rights and dignity,” Sullivan said.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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