London, Washington – The US listed Sohrab Soleimani, the brother of Qassem Soleimani, to its sanctions list for overseeing torture and other abuses at Tehran’s Evin Prison, the White House said on Thursday.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said during a press briefing that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, OFAC, designated Soleimani in its sanctions list for his connection to human rights abuses against Iranian political prisoners in Iran’s prisons.

Qassem Soleimani is the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The measure taken by the US Treasury Department targets both Sohrab and the Tehran Prisons Organization.

Adding Sohrab to the list came as Iran continues to arbitrary arrest foreigners, including US nationals.

In another Iranian development, Iran’s Attorney General alluded to prosecuting former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the eve of his decision to run in the upcoming presidential elections to be held on May 19.

Attorney General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri threatened to prosecute Ahmadinejad, without naming him, saying: “A person spoke a while ago in the region of Ahwaz, and said other things at another place. We tell those that your time is coming.”

In Ahvaz last month, Ahmadinejad had lashed out at his critics. “A person with wild authority in this country acts as a Sultan, ignoring people’s needs,” Ahmadinejad had said. At that time, his comments created confusion concerning the identity of the mentioned person.

Ahmadinejad’s decision on Thursday to run for the presidency also sparked disputes among reformists in Iran.

Mohammad Reza Aref, head of the List of Hope Reformist Parliamentarian bloc, warned on Thursday from “plans to target the unity of the reformist movement,” and accused Ahmadinejad of seeking to “incite tension once again,” similar to the protests that erupted following the 2009 presidential elections.