Iran officials under U.S. sanctions for human rights abuses

The Obama administration has added sanctions against Iranian government officials whom the U.S. accused of being responsible for human rights abuses.

President Obama signed a new executive order imposing sanctions on eight Iranian officials deemed responsible for serious human rights abuses, including the killing, torture, beating and rape of Iranian citizens since the country's disputed 2009 presidential election, administration officials said Wednesday.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced that the sanctions prohibit U.S. citizens from engaging in any business with those on the list, which includes the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, the country's prosecutor general, and the ministers of welfare and intelligence.

"Today we declare our solidarity with their victims and with all Iranians who wish for a government that respects their human rights and their dignity and their freedom," said Hillary Clinton.