Britain has sanctioned 12 individuals and entities with links to Iran, accusing them of involvement in hostile activities, including plotting attacks and providing financial services to groups seeking to destabilize the United Kingdom (UK) and other nations.
Those sanctioned include alleged members and associates of the Zindashti criminal network, along with numerous financial operators and exchange houses, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper announced on May 11.
The sanctions package “directly targets” organizations and individuals who “threaten security on UK streets and stability in the Middle East,” Cooper said in a statement.
“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 these actions across Europe.”
She added that the government continues to press for “a negotiated settlement and a long-term diplomatic solution” in the Middle East, which “urgently restores freedom of navigation” to the vital shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
The government said the network was involved in hostile activity backed by the Iranian regime, including threatening, planning, or carrying out attacks against people and assets in Britain and elsewhere.
Assets Frozen
The accused have seen their assets frozen and been hit with travel bans and director disqualification orders.The notice said the sanctioned financial entities had serviced individuals and groups linked to destabilizing activity, allowing networks connected to the Iranian regime to move and access funds, circumventing international restrictions.
Threat Raised to ‘Severe’
The UK raised its national terrorism threat level to “severe” on April 30, following the stabbing of two Jewish men in north London and a third man in a different area of the capital. The government said the updated alert was in response to threats from multiple directions and not just to recent attacks said to be anti-Semitic in nature.The British government has sanctioned 550 Iranians and organizations and repeatedly accused the country of plotting killings and other attacks on British soil.
Similar US Sanctions
The United States government sanctioned the Zindashti criminal network two years ago, saying it was run by a drug trafficker who operated on the orders of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security to kidnap and assassinate critics of the Iranian regime.Sanctions were imposed against five members of the Zarringhalam family, who were accused of using funds in an attempt to destabilize Britain and the Middle East.
Three brothers from the family—Mansour, Nasser, and Fazlolah Zarringhalam—were sanctioned by the U.S. government last year for allegedly laundering billions of dollars using a shadow banking network that enabled Iran’s main petroleum exporters and the military to evade sanctions.
Four other individuals—two Iranians, a Turkish national, and an Azerbaijani national—were accused of threatening, planning, or carrying out attacks. The announcement did not provide details of the alleged plots.