A newspaper with a cover picture of Mahsa Amini is seen in Tehran, September 18, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Majid Asgaripour

The Biden administration on Friday announced new sanctions against Iran, including three notorious Iranian state-controlled media outlets known for promoting regime propaganda and antisemitic content.

The announcement by the US Treasury Department comes on the eve of the one-year anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman whose death on Sept. 16, 2022, while in the custody of Iran’s morality police for improperly wearing her hijab, or head covering, sparked historic anti-government protests across Iran.

The Treasury Department on Friday noted the role of Press TV, one of the sanctioned Iranian media outlets, in helping to suppress the ongoing, nationwide protests — including by airing the forced confessions of dissidents.

“Press TV has broadcasted scores of forced confessions and derogatory programs about Iranian activists, in many cases broadcasting forced confessions before detainee trials,” the department said in a statement. “Press TV has also been used by Iranian intelligence services to recruit sensitive assets, including US persons.”

Aside from its role in promoting the regime’s show trials, Press TV is routinely used by Iran to air antisemitic conspiracies and Holocaust denial. Despite this content, Press TV has also courted prominent Western politicians to appear on its programs, including former UK opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, who before becoming leader of the Labour Party was paid about $27,000 for his appearances on the channel from 2009 to 2012.

In addition to Press TV, the Treasury Department said it was also sanctioning Iran’s Tasnim News Agency and Fars News Agency for supporting and being closely controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a US-designated terrorist organization, and its subordinate paramilitary force, the Basij.

“Tasnim has supported the IRGC and other instruments of the regime in various ways, including suppressing dissent by helping the IRGC, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, and [Law Enforcement Forces] to crowdsource the identities of protesters,” the US Treasury said.

Along with the three media outlets, the Treasury Department also announced sanctions against 26 Iranian individuals or entities engaged in violently suppressing protests or censoring dissent.

The women-led, anti-regime protests in Iran — with the unofficial slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom” — sparked by Amini’s death have been weakened by the government’s crackdown that has seen more than 500 people killed and more than 22,000 arrested. Despite the regime’s brutality, however, a database maintained by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies continues to record near-daily protests held by the Iranian people.

According to Hengaw, a Norway-based human rights organization, Iran has also stepped up its security force presence in Iran’s Kurdish province in anticipation of mass protests for the anniversary of Amini’s death.

“The cities in [Iranian] Kurdistan have experienced an atmosphere of intimidation and the declaration of a state of war in recent days,” Hengaw said in a post on X/Twitter. “These actions occurred in conjunction with the apprehension of numerous citizens, and the fate of many remains uncertain.”

US President Joe Biden said in a statement on Friday that the US remained committed to the Iranian protest movement.

“Today — as we remember Mahsa’s tragic death — we reaffirm our commitment to the courageous people of Iran who are carrying on her mission,” Biden said. “They are inspiring the world with their resilience and resolve. And together with our allies and partners, we stand with them.”