The Iranian authorities have added more than 20 US citizens to their own sanctions list related to human rights violations, said Kazem Gharib Abadi, deputy head of the Islamic republic's judicial branch of government for international affairs and human rights.

“The American regime does not have the right to carry the banner of human rights and impose, justifying this, sanctions against states,” he said. “On this basis, we decided to include in the sanctions list the individuals and legal entities from the United States involved in [violations] of human rights.”

According to him, "this list includes more than 20 individuals and legal entities."