From The Australian, October 26, 2007:
WASHINGTON: The Bush administration has imposed sweeping new sanctions against Iran's Defence Ministry, its Revolutionary Guard Corps and a number of banks ....
The measures, announced by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, cover some of the Iranian Government's largest military and financial institutions, which Washington blames for supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan and Shia insurgent groups in Iraq, along with the Hamas and Hezbollah organisations.
The sanctions will cut off more than 20 Iranian entities, including individuals and companies owned or controlled by the Revolutionary Guards, from the US financial system and are likely to have a ripple effect through the international banking community.
The Quds Force - a part of the Revolutionary Guard Corps that Washington accuses of providing weapons, including powerful bomb-making material blamed for the deaths of soldiers in Iraq - and banks will be identified as "specially designated global terrorist" groups for their activities in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East.
The sanctions are the toughest the US has levied against Tehran since the 1979 takeover of the US embassy in the Iranian capital.
"What this means is that no US citizen or a private organisation will be allowed to engage in financial transactions with these persons and entities," Dr Rice said last night. "These actions will help to protect the international financial system from the illicit activities of the Iranian Government."
The announcement of the sanctions is likely to fuel speculation that the US is readying military action against Iran for its nuclear program. But a senior official said the action complemented diplomatic efforts. The Secretary of State told the US Congress on Wednesday that Iran constituted "perhaps the single greatest challenge" for US security. President George W.Bush suggested last week a nuclear-armed Iran could trigger "World War III"....
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