US sanctions Iranians over alleged plot to kidnap journalist; Antony Blinken to visit Qatar, Germany
- Four Iranian intelligence operatives behind failed plot sanctioned, and Secretary of State says US ‘remains aware of ongoing Iranian interest’ in others
- Antony Blinken also announces he will visit Qatar to thank officials for their role in Afghanistan evacuation and head to Germany for ministerial meeting
The United States has sanctioned four Iranian intelligence operatives behind a failed plot to kidnap a US journalist and human rights activist, the US Treasury Department said on Friday.
The sanctions come after US prosecutors in July charged the four with plotting to kidnap the New York-based journalist, who was critical of Tehran. Reuters previously confirmed she was Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad.
Iran has called the alleged plot “baseless”.
In a statement on the sanctions, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States “remains aware of ongoing Iranian interest in targeting other American citizens, including current and former US officials”.
He gave no further details.
02:31
Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban raise concerns in Turkey
“The Iranian government’s kidnapping plot is another example of its continued attempt to silence critical voices, wherever they may be,” said Andrea Gacki, head of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. “Targeting dissidents abroad demonstrates that the government’s repression extends far beyond Iran’s borders.”
The sanctions block all property of the four Iranians in the United States or in US control, and prohibits any transactions between them and US citizens. Other non-Americans who conduct certain transactions with the four could also be subjected to US sanctions, the department added.
Those sanctioned include senior Iran-based intelligence official Alireza Shahvaroghi Farahani as well as Iranian intelligence operatives Mahmoud Khazein, Kiya Sadeghi and Omid Noori, Treasury said.
‘Iran regime is scared of me,’ says US author Masih Alinejad targeted in chilling kidnap plot
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Blinken said on Friday he would travel to Qatar on Sunday to meet the country’s leaders and thank them for their help with evacuees from Afghanistan, and later go to Germany for a ministerial meeting.
Blinken told a news conference at the State Department he would meet Afghans and workers in the Qatari capital, Doha, “who are doing truly heroic work around the clock”.
He said he would travel to the Ramstein Air Base in Germany where he also would meet Afghans. The ministerial meeting will be held virtually with partners, including more than 20 countries that have a stake in relocating and settling Afghans.
Blinken also said the US government was maintaining contact with the Taliban. “We continue to maintain channels of communication with the Taliban, on issues that are important,” Blinken said.
The State Department was “in constant contact” with Americans remaining in Afghanistan who still wish to leave the country, Blinken said.
“We have dedicated teams assigned to each of these American citizens to be in constant contact with them. We’re providing them with very tailored, very specific guidance,” he said.
Almost all of those remaining are dual nationals whose homes are in Afghanistan and whose extended families live there, Blinken said.
“It’s no surprise that deciding whether to leave the place they call home is a wrenching decision,” he said.
Evacuated Afghans hoping to resettle in US face extended limbo in third countries
Blinken said it was “hard to see” how the Taliban would get any relief from crippling economic sanctions if they backtracked on commitments to let people who want to leave Afghanistan do so.
Blinken said the US was working on keeping land routes open and was looking at ways to process applications for special immigrant visas outside the country.
“Ultimately the expectation is to see a government that makes good on the commitments that the Taliban has made,” Blinken said.
