The UK government has announced the most extensive package of sanctions against Iran in recent years. The new restrictive measures are in response to the ongoing harsh crackdown on anti-government protests and numerous cases of the death penalty being imposed on demonstrators.
The sanctions list includes:
47 high-ranking officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Ministry of Intelligence,
18 judges and prosecutors who handed down death sentences to protesters.
9 key prison administrations where cases of torture have been recorded,
34 legal entities and companies involved in supplying equipment for suppressing protests and producing surveillance equipment.
For the first time, the sanctions package includes measures against the entire supply chain for components used in the production of tear gas, water cannons, and non-lethal weapons used against demonstrators.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “The regime in Tehran has crossed every conceivable red line. Mass executions, systematic torture, and the killing of protesters in the streets are not Iran’s internal affairs. These are crimes against humanity, and we will not stand idly by.”
The new package places particular emphasis on economic pressure on the elite:
Freezing of all known foreign assets of members of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and their immediate family members
A complete ban on entry into the UK and EU countries for 128 Iranian officials and their families (an extension of the existing list),
The introduction of secondary sanctions against foreign companies that have entered into new major contracts with the IRGC or related entities since February 2025.
According to estimates by the British Foreign Office, the total value of frozen assets and cancelled deals for the Iranian leadership could exceed £3.8 billion.
Experts note that the current package of sanctions is the toughest and broadest since the 2015 nuclear agreement and is likely to serve as the basis for further coordination of restrictive measures between the UK, the EU, the US, and the Gulf countries in 2026.
Official Tehran has already called the new sanctions “another senseless and illegal hostile action by the West,” promising an “adequate response.”