US Treasury targets Taliban, designates 8 people linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions targeting Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgency on Tuesday, designating eight people including two Iranians allegedly linked to Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Quds force. The individuals, which include two Pakistanis and four Afghanis, were identified as global terrorists by the Treasury Department, an action that allows the US government to freeze property or interest in property under American jurisdiction, Reuters reports. The sanctions target Taliban members, who are “involved in suicide attacks and other lethal activities,” as well as Iranians who “provide material and financial support,” according to Treasury. The new sanctions follow a spate of violence in Afghanistan that preceded the country’s parliamentary elections last week.