First case of public defection from ranks of Iranian Armed Forces as US and EU impose new sanctions of violence against protesters 

TEHRAN — In the first case in several years in Iran, an Iranian Air Force officer announced his defection from the army in support of the protesters in the country.

A video recording circulated on social media showing the defection of a captain in the Iranian Air Force who joined the demonstrations against the regime. It is the first known case of a public defection from the country’s security services.

In his speech, the officer stressed the need for the army to be among the demonstrators in the pursuit of civil rights. The first and last issue is justice and the freedom of the homeland, he said.

US President Joe Biden said that the United States will impose further costs on perpetrators of violence against peaceful protestors.

Reuters also reported that European countries intend to impose sanctions on Iran over what it considered a “violent crackdown” on the protests that erupted after the killing of Kurdish Iranian woman Zhina “Mahsa” Amini (22) at the hands of the country’s so-called “morality police”.

On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the imposition of sanctions on Iranian entities and officials, “involved in carrying out repressive measures and violations of human rights.”

Among those on the sanctions list are Major General of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, and Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, Hossein Salami, as well as the commander of the Quds Force, Esmail Qaani.