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Recently announced U.S. sanctions against eight senior Iranian officials accused of human rights abuses have been welcomed by some Iranians, including Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi while, predictably, the Iranian government has condemned the move.

Ebadi has said in an interview with the Farsi Service of Deutche Welle that the sanctions mark a "turning point” not only for Iran, but for “ the history of human rights":

"The sanctioned officials have never been to the US and it’s clear that after this they will not go either. So this move is largely symbolic, we're hoping that other countries will follow the example particulary European countries and Canada, we hope they’ll join these sanctions."

Dozens of Iranians have expressed support for the move on Radio Farda's website. Shaghayegh from Bushehr writes that she believes "political sanctions" are better than economic ones which, she says, only hurt the Iranian people.