On Thursday, the United States imposed sanctions on Russia’s Internal Security Service, the FSB and the intelligence unit (IO) of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing them of being responsible or complicit in the illegal detention of Americans abroad. , Art. administration officials said, Reuters reports.

The sanctions also affect four high-ranking IRGC commanders, although at least one of them was already the target of previous US sanctions. The FSB was also the target of previous US sanctions.

Speaking to reporters on a conference call on condition of anonymity, senior Biden administration officials said Thursday’s move was intended to show there would be consequences for those who try to use American citizens to gain political influence or get concessions from Washington.

“Our action is a warning to those around the world who would arbitrarily detain American citizens about the potential consequences of their actions,” a senior administration official said at a briefing with reporters on condition of anonymity.

“Today’s sanctions are part of a series of efforts — some public like this one, some private — to secure the release of American citizens illegally detained abroad, help bring those responsible to justice, and thereby prevent and deter the next wave of cases,” he said.

The official added that the measures introduced on Thursday were the first set and that new sanctions were being worked on.

Russia and Iran, two US adversaries, hold several American citizens in their prisons, detentions that Washington considers unjustified and politically charged.

Last month, the Russian FSB arrested Evan Hershkovich, an American reporter working for the Wall Street Journal, and charged him with espionage, which he denied.

Also, Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, is serving a 16-year term in a Russian colony on espionage charges. He denies his guilt.

Relations between the United States and Russia have hit their lowest level in a decade since Moscow invaded Ukraine, but the two former Cold War foes have managed to share diplomacy that led to two prisoner exchanges last year.

In one of them, Washington secured the release of American basketball star Brittney Griner, who was being held in Russia on drug-trafficking charges, by commuting the sentence of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The plight of Americans held by foreign governments drew attention to Griner’s case. Although the US government does not provide figures, according to the James Foley Foundation, named after the American journalist kidnapped and killed in Syria, there are more than 60 such detainees.

At least a few of them are imprisoned in Iran.