THE United States government targeted Russia’s Federal Security Service, often known as the FSB, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization, with sanctions.
Among those sanctioned were four senior commanders within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization while Russia’s FSB was also subject to previous US sanctions.
Washington has accused both countries of “hostage-taking” and of detaining a number of American citizens in their prisons.
The Biden administration has identified at least three American citizens who are wrongfully detained there in Iran and two other more in Russia.
The two US citizens detained in Iran were former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
Two senior White House officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, revealed the US sanctions were underway before Russian authorities detained American citizen Evan Gershkovich last month.
Gershkovich, who works for Wall Street Journal, was arrested by Russian authorities on allegations of espionage while the Biden administration and the American daily newspaper denied claims that he was a spy.
One of the senior administration officials claimed that the US is working on more sanctions against Russia and Iran.
Despite strained relations between the US and Russia, the two former Cold War foes managed to enforce compartmentalized diplomacy, which resulted in two prisoner swaps last year including the release of US basketball star Brittney Griner who was held in Russia on drug charges.
Meanwhile, speaking in front of journalists at the United Nations earlier this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov defended the detainment of the two US citizens in Russia.
During the interview, the Russian foreign minister claimed the US had detained an estimated 60 Russian nationals under suspicious charges and slammed the Western country for targeting the “destruction of globalization.”
Ties between Russia and the United States sunk to its worst following decades of superpower conflict and nuclear arms race, while Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine further escalated tensions.
