A handout picture provided by the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him speaking during a ceremony in Tehran on 1 May 2024. (Khamenei.IR/AFP)
Iran
announced on Thursday sanctions on several American and British individuals and
entities for supporting Israel in its war against the Palestinian militant
group Hamas.
The
Islamic republic, the regional arch-foe of Israel, unveiled the punitive
measures in a statement from its foreign ministry.
It
said the sanctions targeted seven Americans, including General Bryan P. Fenton,
commander of the US special operations command, and Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, a
former commander of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
British
officials and entities targeted include Secretary of State for Defence Grant
Shapps, commander of the British army strategic command James Hockenhull and
the UK Royal Navy in the Red Sea.
Penalties
were also announced against US firms Lockheed Martin and Chevron and their
British counterparts, Elbit Systems, Parker Meggitt, and Rafael UK.
The
ministry said the sanctions include “blocking of accounts and transactions
in the Iranian financial and banking systems, blocking of assets within the
jurisdiction of the Islamic Republic of Iran as well as prohibition of visa
issuance and entry to the Iranian territory”.
ROLLING COVERAGE | DEVELOPING: Israel state auditor calls on Netanyahu to cooperate in 7 October probe
The
impact of these measures on the individuals or entities, as well as their
assets or dealings with Iran, remains unclear.
The
war in the Gaza Strip erupted after the 7 October attack by Palestinian
militants on Israel which killed 1 170 people, mostly civilians, according an
AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Iran
backs Hamas but has denied any direct involvement in the attack.
Israel’s
retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed at least 34 568 people in
Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health
ministry.