Australia Imposes Sanctions on 7 Iranian Officials, Entities

Australia has imposed fresh sanctions on seven Iranian officials and four entities over their links to Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and alleged human rights abuses.

Those sanctioned include Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni; Seyed Majid Feiz Jafari, chief of Iran’s Public Security Police; and Ruhollah Momen Nasab, head of the Tehran branch of the Headquarters for Promoting Virtue and Preventing Vice, which is responsible for overseeing the enforcement of mandatory hijab rules.

The sanctions also target Iran’s shadow banking system, which is believed to facilitate funding for proxy groups such as Hamas and to support Iran’s ballistic missile program.

Entities named include the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Seraj Cyberspace, Berelian Exchange and GCM Exchange.

Two members of the Zarringhalam family—Nasser Zarringhalam and Mansour Zarringhalam—have also been sanctioned over alleged links to money exchange networks tied to the Iranian regime.

The sanctions freeze any assets held by the listed individuals and entities in Australia. It is an offence to use or deal with those assets, or to make assets available to them, without government approval. Those sanctioned are also banned from entering or travelling to Australia.

The federal government has now imposed more than 230 sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said Australia would continue working with international partners to hold Iran accountable.

“Australia continues to stand with the brave people of Iran against a brutal, oppressive regime,” she said in a statement.

“The seven individuals and four entities sanctioned today include senior officials and entities involved in these horrific acts, including violence against women and children.”

More than 30,000 people are believed to have been killed by Iranian forces during protests that erupted across the country in January.

In August 2025, Australia suspended diplomatic relations with Iran, alleging that the Islamic regime had directed anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.

Intelligence agencies linked Iran to an arson attack on a café in Sydney in October 2024 and another on a synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024.

Iran’s ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and three other officials were ordered to leave Australia, while Canberra withdrew its diplomats from Tehran.