WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama this morning announced a new crackdown on Iran and Syria.

The president announced new sanctions on people and entities in Iran and Syria that use technology to target citizens and erode their human rights. More broadly, Obama spoke of the work that “will never be done” — the global challenge of preventing atrocities.

Obama’s new steps aim to counter violations of human rights through technology. While rebellions in countries like Libya and Egypt have been fueled by cellphones and social media, other regimes have used technology to track dissidents or block Internet access.

Obama has also asked the U.S. intelligence community to include assessments of the likelihood of mass killings in its National Intelligence Estimates.