Canada imposes new Iran sanctions on four senior officials
Canada has sanctioned four Iranian senior officials over what it described as gross and systematic human rights violations, widening pressure on Tehran under its Iran sanctions regime.
OTTAWA, December 15, 2025 — Canada on Monday imposed new sanctions on four Iranian senior officials under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations, saying they were involved in gross and systematic human rights violations and played a significant role in facilitating and directing repressive policies in Iran.
Foreign Minister Anita Anand said the measures target Mohsen Karimi, Ahmad Kadem Seyedoshohada, Mustafa Mohebbi and Hassan Akharian. A government backgrounder identified Karimi as a brigadier general and commander of the Ruhollah Corps of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Seyedoshohada as a brigadier general and commander of the Karbala Operational Base of the IRGC, Mohebbi as the former head of the State Prison Organization in Tehran Province, and Akharian as head of Ward 5 and solitary confinement at Rajaei Shahr Prison.
Canada said Iran continues to suppress protests and dissent in breach of international human rights obligations, with security forces, including the IRGC, accused of using excessive and lethal force, arbitrary arrests and torture. Ottawa said the latest measures bar people in Canada and Canadians abroad from dealing in the property of the listed individuals, entering into transactions with them, providing services to them, or making goods available to them. The designations also render the listed individuals inadmissible to Canada under immigration law.
The government said the Dec. 15 action marked its 18th round of sanctions against Iranian officials and entities since October 2022, while the accompanying backgrounder said Canada has imposed 20 rounds of sanctions since the October 2022 amendments that added gross and systematic human rights violations as grounds under the Iran regulations. Canada also said it has now sanctioned more than 210 Iranian individuals and 254 Iranian entities.
Canada said the announcement coincided with its 23rd consecutive year leading a U.N. General Assembly resolution on the human rights situation in Iran, underscoring Ottawa’s broader effort to keep international attention on Tehran’s domestic rights record.
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Structured data extracted from official sources and validated by sanctions experts