US weighs sanctions on Chinese companies over “Iran surveillance buildup”: Report

US authorities are in advanced discussions on the sanctions and have zeroed in on Tiandy Technologies Co, an electrical equipment manufacturer based out of the Chinese city of Tianjin whose products have been sold to units of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the report added.

Protests erupted in several cities across Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini who fainted at a police station in mid-September and days later was pronounced dead at a hospital. The demonstrations soon turned violent.

Iranian officials blame Western countries for orchestrating the riots to destabilize the country.

In January, the European Parliament passed an amendment calling on the EU and its member states to include the IRGC on their terror list. It also passed another resolution calling for more sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities and putting the IRGC on the EU terrorist list over alleged human rights violations during the recent riots.

The move by the European Parliament has thus far been strongly condemned by Iranian officials, commanders, and the Armed Forces.

Iranian officials have reiterated the country’s unstinting support for the IRGC, warning of a “harsh” response to the European Parliament’s call to blacklist the elite force as a terrorist group.