The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it has sanctioned both Iranian officials and a university.
Hasan Irlu, an official in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and Iran’s envoy to the Houthi rebels in Yemen, was sanctioned for allegedly acting for or on behalf of the IRGC-QF, according to the U.S. State and Treasury departments.
The United States also sanctioned Al-Mustafa International University for facilitating IRGC-QF recruitment efforts and an individual, Yusuf Ali Muraj, who has allegedly supported the group’s operations, according to the departments.
Al-Mustafa International University, which has more than 50 branches worldwide, is used as a recruitment platform by the IRGC-QF for intelligence collection and operations, including recruitment for the IRGC-QF-led foreign militias fighting on behalf of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, according to the State and Treasury departments.
“The appointment of an IRGC-QF official as an envoy to the Houthi rebels in Yemen demonstrates the Iranian regime’s indifference to resolving the conflict, which has led to the widespread suffering of millions of Yemenis,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement.
“Additionally, the IRGC-QF’s recruitment of foreign students for intelligence operations illustrates the degree to which the group has infiltrated Iranian society in order to achieve its destructive goals,” he continued. “These efforts, and the pervasive role the IRGC-QF plays in Iranian foreign policy, contribute to the erosion of trust in Iran’s public and private institutions.”
