ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The US on Friday imposed new sanctions targeting Iranian officials “responsible for the recent brutal crackdown on their own people,” including the interior minister, expressing support for the nationwide protests.

Iranian authorities have delivered a heavy-handed response to the weeks-long nationwide protests, killing, injuring, and arresting tens of thousands of demonstrators according to unconfirmed reports from human rights watchdogs.

“We are designating six Iranian officials who oversee the Iranian security forces responsible for the violent crackdowns on protesters, as well as an Iranian investor who embezzled billions in funds from the Iranian people,” US Treasury Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement, reiterating Washington’s support for the Iranian people “in their protests against the corrupt and repressive regime in Tehran.”

The sanctions target several commanders and interior minister Eskandar Momeni who is “responsible for organizing domestic security services and oversees the LEF [Law Enforcement Forces], whose actions have led to mass killings, arrests, and forced disappearances.”

The action also targets an Iranian businessman allegedly active in several sectors and two UK-based exchange houses accused of having “materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC].”

Iran has been rocked by nationwide protests since late last year, which have spread to the majority of provinces and increasingly targeted the government. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has reported that Iranian security forces have killed more than 6,000 protesters.

Amnesty International on Friday warned that thousands of arbitrarily detainees are at risk of torture, including sexual violence and unfair trials leading to long sentences and the death penalty.

The European Union on Thursday designated Iran’s IRGC as a terrorist organization, and announced a new round of sanctions on officials and state-linked entities, citing “serious human rights violations in Iran.”

The US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, and its accompanying strike group have been redirected from the South China Sea to the Middle East in recent weeks as tensions boil.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, US President Donald Trump said Washington has “a large armada… heading toward Iran right now, even larger than what we had in Venezuela,” stating: “we’ll see what happens,” if Washington and Tehran fail to reach an agreement.

Iran’s top security bodies have warned of strong retaliation if the US or Israel carry out renewed strikes on the country, saying any attack on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be considered a “war against Islam.”