WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is expected to impose sanctions as early as next week on Iranians involved in a violent crackdown against anti-government demonstrations in Iran a year ago, three sources familiar with the matter said on Monday. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the sanctions announcement was timed to the one-year anniversary of what may have been the bloodiest repression of protesters in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. One source said next week’s designations would be a major action, covering multiple individuals as well as several dozen Iranian entities. “If true, it will simply be indicative of the desperation of an administration whose hostility towards the people of Iran is well-known,” said Alireza Miryousefi, spokesman for Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York, in an emailed statement. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment on the sanctions likely to be imposed next week.