UK sanctions Iran morality police, senior security officials

The UK said on Monday it had sanctioned senior Iranian security officials and its "so-called Morality Police", saying the force had used threats of detention and violence to control what Iranian women wear and how they behave in public.

The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody has sparked protests across Iran, with demonstrators calling for the downfall of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Citing her death, the UK said it had sanctioned the morality police in its entirety, as well as both its chief Mohammed Rostami Cheshmeh Gachi and the Head of the Tehran Division Haj Ahmed Mirzaei.

"These sanctions send a clear message to the Iranian authorities – we will hold you to account for your repression of women and girls and for the shocking violence you have inflicted on your own people," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.

Iranian authorities have described the protests as a plot by Iran's foes, including the United States.

Amini, whose Kurdish name can be spelled "Zhina" or "Jina", died in police custody on 16 September.

She was arrested in Tehran by the morality police on 13 September for allegedly not wearing her hijab 'correctly'.

Amini went into a coma in detention and died at a hospital in the Iranian capital.

The authorities, who are accused of beating her, maintain she died from natural causes.

(Reuters, The New Arab)