UK sanctions Iranian banker for supporting Iran's Guards

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain sanctioned Iranian banker and businessman Aliakbar Ansari on Thursday, citing his role in financially supporting the activities of Iran's Revolutionary Guards as the reason for its action.

"Its (the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps') use of repression and targeted threats to carry out hostile acts, including here in the UK, is completely unacceptable," Britain's Middle East minister Hamish Falconer said in a statement.

"We will not tolerate threats from the IRGC and will not hesitate to take the most effective measures against them."

An update to the British government website showed that an asset freeze, director disqualification and travel ban were imposed on Ansari. Reuters could not immediately reach him for comment.

Ansari is a major shareholder in private lender Bank Ayandeh, which was dissolved last week by Iran's central bank due to longstanding debts and regulatory issues. It ran into financial difficulties after financing the construction of one of the world's largest malls in Tehran, known as Iran Mall.

He is the latest individual to be targeted by the British government, which last year sanctioned parts of the IRGC for enabling the work of Yemen's Houthis, and key Iranian military figures following Iran's missile and drone attack on Israel in April.

(Reporting by Muvija MEditing by Sarah Young and Gareth Jones)