US imposes new sanctions on Russia, Iran over detained Americans

The Biden administration is imposing sanctions on Russian and Iranian intelligence services and individuals for their roles in wrongfully detaining Americans, senior administration officials said.

The new measures, announced Thursday, target Russia’s Federal Security Service and the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as four individuals associated with the Iranian group.

The sanctioned individuals are Commander Mohammad Kazemi, Co-Deputy Chief Mohamad Mehdi Sayyari, Co-Deputy Chief Brigadier General Mohammad Hasan Mohagheghi, and Counterintelligence official Ruhollah Bazghandi.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order last July aimed at boosting efforts to bring hostages and wrongfully detained US nationals home. The sanctions are being imposed under authority granted in that order. The officials said this will be the first tranche of penalties and further announcements using the new authority are expected in the future. 

The US government consulted experts to ensure that ongoing efforts to resolve outstanding cases of wrongfully detained Americans will not be set back, they added.

In one high-profile case, the White House last year successfully managed to bring home WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia on allegations of drug smuggling.

A month ago, Russian authorities detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on spying charges. The officials said planning for the sanctions announcement was well under way when Gershkovich was detained but noted the arrest only reinforced the need to impose consequences on those wrongfully detaining Americans.

The sanctions are meant to be an incentive to change behavior and the US is not ruling out the lifting of sanctions to facilitate bringing Americans home, the officials said.

The US has already imposed sanctions against the IRGC and Russia’s Federal Security Service numerous times.

In 2019, the Trump administration also designated the IRGC a foreign terrorist organization, a label that Biden has maintained. Sanctions against Russia’s Federal Security Service include actions in 2016, 2018 and 2021.