US:The Bush administration has announced tough new sanctions against Iran, declaring that the elite Quds division of the Revolutionary Guards Corps supports terrorism and accusing the entire corps of proliferating weapons of mass destruction.
The decision to target the Revolutionary Guards represents the first time the US has taken such steps against the armed forces of a sovereign government.
Unveiling the sanctions package yesterday, secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said they were designed to confront the "threatening behaviour" of the Iranians.
"Unfortunately the Iranian government continues to spurn our offer of open negotiations, instead threatening peace and security by pursuing nuclear technologies that can lead to a nuclear weapon, building dangerous ballistic missiles, supporting Shia militants in Iraq and terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, and denying the existence of a fellow member of the United Nations, threatening to wipe Israel off the map," she said.
Earlier this year, the administration said it planned to declare the entire Revolutionary Guards Corps a terrorist organisation but yesterday's announcement was more limited, perhaps reflecting the unease expressed by European allies about the US approach. By designating the Quds unit, which runs Iran's covert operations in the Middle East, as a terrorist organisation, the administration has made it unlawful for anyone subject to US jurisdiction to knowingly provide material support or resources to it.
"The Quds force has had a long history of supporting Hizbullah's military, paramilitary, and terrorist activities, providing it with guidance, funding, weapons, intelligence, and logistical support," the announcement said.
"In addition, the Quds force provides lethal support in the form of weapons, training, funding, and guidance to select groups of Iraqi Shia militants who target and kill coalition and Iraqi forces and innocent Iraqi civilians."
The Revolutionary Guard Corps, which numbers at least 125,000, is the most powerful wing of Iran's military. It controls a growing sector of the economy, including construction companies, aspects of the oil industry, pharmaceutical plants and telecommunications.
US treasury secretary Hank Paulson said that the corps' economic interests were so broad that anyone who does business with Iran risks falling foul of the new prohibition.
"It is nearly impossible to know one's customer and be assured that one is not unwittingly facilitating the regime's reckless behaviour and conduct. It is increasingly likely that if you are doing business with Iran you are doing business with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps," he said.