UK slaps sanctions on dozen people and entities deemed ‘criminal proxies’ of Iran

Britain on Monday slapped sanctions on a dozen Iran-linked individuals and entities accused of involvement in “hostile activities” by Tehran targeting the UK or other countries.

The curbs follow a string of attacks over recent months against the Jewish community in Britain, and repeated warnings from officials that hostile states are intent on using proxies for such purposes.

Updating its official sanctions list, the Foreign Office in London imposed the UK travel bans and asset freezes on nine people, two shadow banking exchange houses, and the allegedly criminal Zindashti network.

The UK government had already sanctioned the network’s alleged leader, Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti, in 2024 alongside the United States, labeling him the head of an international drug and trafficking cartel.

Zindashti’s nephew Ekrem Abdulkerym Oztunc, a Turkish national, was among the nine people sanctioned Monday by Britain.

The European Union sanctioned Zindashti’s network last year, with London, Washington, and Brussels all claiming it is connected to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and accusing it of conducting assassination and kidnapping operations against Tehran’s critics.

London also targeted five members of the Zarringhalam family, said to have helped finance efforts to “destabilize” the UK.

Mansour, Nasser, and Fazlolah Zarringhalam were sanctioned by the US last year for their involvement in Iran’s “shadow banking” network.

The US Treasury said the trio had “collectively laundered billions of dollars” for Iran through a network of front companies in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.

London also added two US-sanctioned Iran-based exchange houses linked to them to its sanctions list.

Iranians Nihat Abdul Kadir Asan and Reza Hamidiravari and Azerbaijani national Namiq Salifov were the other three individuals hit with the British travel bans and asset freezes.

Sanctions come amid wave of anti-Jewish attacks

“This package of sanctions directly targets organizations and individuals who threaten security on UK streets and stability in the Middle East,” UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday in a statement.

“Criminal proxies backed by parts of the Iranian regime who threaten security in the UK and Europe will not be tolerated, nor will illicit finance networks,” she said.

Last month, police said they were investigating possible Iran links to a recent series of arson attacks on Jewish targets in London, which prompted counterterrorism inquiries and warnings about hostile activity by Tehran or groups acting on its behalf. Amid the wave of arsons, two Jewish men were also stabbed in an antisemitic attack.

The regime-hostile Iran International outlet, based in London, was also targeted for arson, as was a memorial wall depicting Iranians killed by the Islamic Republic, along with Israelis killed by the Hamas terror group.

Authorities have suggested that Tehran may be behind some of the attacks, and a newly formed terror group – Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI) – has claimed responsibility for some of them. The group, believed to have links to Iran, was not named in the Monday sanctions package.

The UK has raised its national terrorism threat level to “severe,” the second-highest rating, with police and ministers warning of an elevated risk of attacks and growing concern about hostile activity linked to foreign states, including Iran.

London’s Metropolitan Police also announced the creation of a special unit to protect Jews.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.