Politicians in the United States have moved to punish Iran with trade sanctions, nearly 12 months after mass riots against the nation’s conservative government saw hundreds killed or thrown in prison.
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly agreed to restrict Iran’s ability to import or export its expanding arsenal of weapons from US soil.
The move to sanction Iran must pass a vote in the US Senate to proceed.
America’s move against the conservative Middle Eastern nation comes just shy of one year after Iranians raged against the government in the wake of 22-year-old student Mahsa Amini’s mysterious death.
She died in police custody on September 16, 2022, three days after being jailed for not wearing her headscarf correctly.
Iranian officials claimed she suffered from a heart attack in her cell.
Ms Amini’s family publicly disputed her cause of death, pointing out she was healthy with no history of heart issues and accused Iranian police of beating their loved one to death.
This claim triggered a nationwide uprising that lasted weeks.
The government called on Iran’s security officials to bring the public to heel, which saw more than 500 people killed.
Officers also detained more than 22,000 people as they called for justice for Ms Amini.
As a result, Ms Amini became a symbol for the modern Iranian protest movement.
The uprising was one of the largest challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The US House vote comes one day after America secured the release of five of its own citizens detained in Iran.
President Joe Biden struck a deal to waive sanctions for 6 billion dollars in frozen Iranian money in return for the prisoner swap.
