London, May 12 : Organisations and individuals accused of enabling hostile Iranian activity, including in the form of criminal proxies on British soil, are among those hit with new UK sanctions.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the new measures on Monday come in response to Iranian action against global security and its use of criminal gangs to carry out threats overseas.
They are designed to target illicit finance flows which enable the Iranian regime to pursue destabilising action across West Asia, including the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which is disrupting the global economy and military strikes against the UK’s Gulf allies.
“This package of sanctions directly targets organisations and individuals who threaten security on UK streets and stability in the Middle East,” said UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
“Criminal proxies backed by parts of the Iranian regime who threaten security in the UK and Europe will not be tolerated, nor will illicit finance networks. We are coordinating our actions across Europe.
“We continue to press for a negotiated settlement and a long-term diplomatic solution in the Middle East, which urgently restores freedom of navigation to the Strait of Hormuz,” she said.
The UK sanctions unveiled this week will target criminal proxies who are suspected of acting on behalf of the Iranian state to threaten the US and Europe by preventing criminal gangs from travelling to the UK or accessing assets which finance their illegal activity.
The FCDO said its package is aligned with action taken by the European Union (EU) and builds on recent action by the British government to hold the Iranian regime accountable for hostile activity, including threats to national security.
The entities sanctioned by an asset freeze and director disqualification include Berelian Exchange, GCM Exchange and the Zindashti Network.
The individuals on the sanctions list of a travel ban, asset freeze and director disqualification are named as: Mansour Zarringhalam, Nasser Zarringhalam, Ekrem Abdulkerym Oztunc, Nihat Abdul Kadir Asan, Reza Hamidiravari and Namiq Salifov.
The FCDO said the latest action follows more than 550 sanctions previously imposed on Iranian individuals and organisations, including the entirety of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and over 90 sanctions in response to human rights violations.
