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The US Treasury announced on Thursday that it has imposed sanctions on two Iranian judges for alleged oppression.
Abolghassem Salavati and Mohammad Moghisseh, the two blacklisted judges who preside over branches of Iran's Revolutionary Court, were accused by the Treasury in a statement of punishing "Iranian citizens and dual-nationals for exercising their freedoms of expression or assembly", Xinhua reported.
Following the designation, all property and interests in property of those individuals that are subject to US jurisdiction will be blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
After its unilateral exit last year from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, Washington has been mounting pressure on Tehran through a series of sanctions to seek re-negotiations. Iran has maintained a tough stance and scaled back its nuclear commitments in response.
Meanwhile, experts have doubted the effectiveness of US economic sanctions in terms of seeking a new deal or easing tensions in the Middle East.
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