UK sanctions Iran's leading military figures, entities

LONDON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Kingdom (UK) on Thursday announced sanctions on a further seven individuals and six entities who it said "enabled Iran to conduct destabilizing regional activity, including its direct attack on Israel."

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK has sanctioned the ringleaders of the Iranian military and forces responsible for the April 14 attack. Iran said the attack was in retaliation for Israel's strike on Iran's consulate building in Damascus, Syria, on April 1.

The sanctioned individuals and entities are subjected to asset freeze, with a concurrent imposition of a travel ban targeting the individuals under sanction.

This adds to the 400-plus sanctions already imposed on Iran, the UK government said in a statement. Previous sanctions include the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in its entirety and many of those allegedly responsible for the attack on Israel.