Washington’s Human Rights Sanctions Against Tehran Won’t Halt Regime Brutality

The Trump administration issued its first round of Iran-related human rights sanctions on January 15, almost three weeks after Iranians took to the streets in the largest protests in the Islamic Republic’s history. Two days earlier, President Donald Trump told the Iranian people demonstrating for regime change to, “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.”

Regime forces, supplemented by around 5,000 terrorists deployed from Tehran’s network of regional militias, have slaughtered between 12,000 and 20,000 peaceful protestors with heavy military equipment. They have even executed injured protestors inside hospitals. Despite this flagrant violation of Trump’s red line, the ongoing violent crackdown, and the continuing internet blackout, Iranians continue to protest.

Designation Names Serious Human Rights Abusers

The Treasury Department designated Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, for leading the violent crackdown at the behest of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Treasury’s statement noted that, “Larijani was one of the first Iranian leaders to call for violence in response to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people.”

The action also identified four commanders in Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for committing “multiple atrocities targeting Iranian civilians.” The designations mark the first time that the current Trump administration has invoked a 2010 Executive Order entitled “Designating Iranian Officials Responsible for or Complicit in Serious Human Rights Abuses.”

As part of the Trump maximum pressure campaign to cut off funding for the Islamic Republic, the designation also included 18 individuals and entities involved in Iran’s illicit shadow banking network, which finances the regime.

Security Forces Terrorize Families of Victims

Plainclothes regime forces and IRGC members have reportedly raided the homes of protesters killed in recent demonstrations, fired shots into walls, verbally abused family members, and pointedly emptied household refrigerators during widespread food shortages and soaring prices.

Security officials also instructed families to appear at dawn to receive the bodies of their slaughtered loved ones, ordering that burial ceremonies be carried out individually and completed overnight to prevent large gatherings at funerals. Families were threatened that failure to comply would result in the bodies being buried in mass graves.

Authorities also demanded payment for the killings, charging 2.5 billion rials per bullet fired at the victim, roughly $1,700, and imposing a fee of 7 billion rials, about $4,700, for the release of a body.

Judiciary Reinforces Repression Through Legal Means

Iran’s Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi Azad, authorized the regime’s law enforcement agencies to identify and report the assets of protesters. He claimed that the measure was meant to function as a deterrent, calling on individuals and companies claiming financial losses to submit documentation so that the authorities can pursue punitive action against protesters and their supporters.

The head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, declared that no “leniency or tolerance” would be shown, promising expedited prosecutions while praising the aggressive measures adopted by the armed forces. The judiciary has also labeled unarmed protestors as “terrorists,” falsely accusing them of operating on behalf of the U.S. and Israel. Protestors face the charge of moharebeh (enmity against God) — a capital offense which the regime often uses to justify the execution of political activists. These statements are not mere threats. The Islamic Republic is the world’s highest per-capita executioner. In 2025, the regime carried out roughly 1,500 executions, nearly double the 975 recorded in 2024.

There Are High Costs to Inaction

Threats and condemnations can postpone executions, but they cannot prevent them entirely. Failure to act decisively risks losing momentum on the ground, squandering an unprecedented opportunity for the U.S. while the internal legitimacy of the regime is eroded and its military weakened six months after extensive Israeli and U.S. strikes. Non-kinetic measures such as cyber operations and psychological operations can help, but to meaningfully aid Iranians, the calculus on the ground must shift so that the regime’s apparatus of repression faces a clear risk.

Janatan Sayeh is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he focuses on Iranian domestic affairs and the Islamic Republic’s regional malign influence. Bridget Toomey is a research analyst at FDD, where she focuses on Iranian proxies. For more analysis from Janatan, Bridget, and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Janatan on X @JanatanSayeh and Bridget @BridgetKToomey. Follow FDD on X @FDD and @FDD_Iran. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, non-partisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.