RM

Responsibility Meter

Current-event accountability

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sanctionsHuman Rights SanctionsWashington, D.C., United Statesstable 89.3

Treasury sanctions architects of Iran's protest crackdown

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on senior Iranian officials and financial networks linked to the regime's crackdown on peaceful protests and the laundering of petroleum revenue. The action expanded U.S. pressure on the infrastructure behind the crackdown.

curated-2026launch-packiransanctionshuman-rightsofacprotests

Published

1/15/2026

Current public event date

Source base

1 sources

Evidence records attached to this event

Actor field

3 ranked

Actors currently scored in public view

Incident links

1

Analyses connected to this incident

Editorial note

Curated from Treasury's sanctions announcement tied to Iran's protest crackdown.

Event harm

70.6

Overall event-level harm score

Top culpability

44.3

President Donald Trump

Confidence

89.3

How stable the current public reading is

Top responsibility

62.8

Highest actor responsibility before event harm is applied

Event harm

Harm context

The public harm score is grounded in who bears the harm, what protections are in play, and the broader social fallout.

Who is harmed

Journalists, sources, and the wider public that depends on independent reporting.

Rights or laws at risk

Press freedom, source confidentiality, and protection against retaliatory state intrusion are at risk.

Societal impact

The move can reshape diplomatic pressure, economic spillover, and daily conditions for civilians connected to the targeted system.

Overview

Highest ranked actor

Start with the strongest current attribution before moving into the full ranking and supporting detail.

President Donald Trump

Rank #1 with the highest weighted culpability in the current public reading.

Culpability

44.3

Weighted contribution

Confidence

96.0

Attribution stability

Rank #1authorizerpersonUnited States

President Donald Trump

Ranked in the public field as a authorizer with a current responsibility band of meaningful.

stable 96.0

Responsibility

62.8

Actor-level role score before event harm is applied.

Culpability

44.3

Final contribution after event harm weighting.

Confidence

96.0

Current stability of the attribution.

Evidence links

1

Attached source links for this actor.

Why this actor is ranked here

Treasury said the sanctions were taken at the president's direction, making the White House the clearest authorizing source for the action.

1 evidence link

Chart views

Score breakdown

Switch between ranked culpability, top-actor dimension mix, contribution balance, and revision timeline.

Ranked actors

3

Actors represented in the ladder and contribution views.

Top actor

President Donald Trump

Highest-ranked actor in the current public reading.

Revisions

13

Entries contributing to the synthetic timeline chart.

Active chart

Ladder

Current visualization mode.

Ranked field

Other ranked actors

Review the rest of the ranked field, with confidence warnings and supporting detail for each actor.

Rank #2authorizerofficeUnited States

Secretary Scott Bessent and Treasury sanctions leadership

Ranked in the public field as a authorizer with a current responsibility band of meaningful.

stable 88.0

Responsibility

60.8

Actor-level role score before event harm is applied.

Culpability

42.9

Final contribution after event harm weighting.

Confidence

88.0

Current stability of the attribution.

Evidence links

1

Attached source links for this actor.

Why this actor is ranked here

Treasury leadership framed, announced, and operationalized the sanctions action, placing it at the center of the authorizing chain below the president.

1 evidence link
Rank #3executoragencyUnited States

OFAC sanctions enforcement apparatus

Ranked in the public field as a executor with a current responsibility band of meaningful.

stable 84.0

Responsibility

56.0

Actor-level role score before event harm is applied.

Culpability

39.5

Final contribution after event harm weighting.

Confidence

84.0

Current stability of the attribution.

Evidence links

1

Attached source links for this actor.

Why this actor is ranked here

OFAC and related enforcement staff carry the execution role because they designate, block, and enforce the sanctions described in the Treasury action.

1 evidence link