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US imposes new sanctions on Iran
BBC - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced penalties targeting Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and three state-owned banks.
She said the moves were part of "a comprehensive policy to confront the threatening behaviour of the Iranians".
The sanctions were backed by Britain, but a top Iranian MP dismissed them as a "strategic mistake".
The Revolutionary Guards were declared a "proliferator of weapons of mass destruction", a reference to ballistic missiles they are allegedly developing, while its elite overseas operations arm, the Quds Force, was singled out as a "supporter of terrorism".
The classification will allow the US to target the Iranian military's finances.
The US has repeatedly accused Iran of destabilising Iraq and Afghanistan, blaming the Revolutionary Guards for supplying and training insurgents.
'Proliferator'
Ms Rice said: "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."
 |  These actions will help to protect the international financial system from the illicit activities of the Iranian government  Condoleezza Rice US Secretary of State |
Under Executive Order 13382, US authorities will be able to freeze the assets of, and prohibit any US citizen or organisation from doing business with the Revolutionary Guards.
Iran's ministry of defence, which controls the country's defence industry, three Iranian banks, and several companies owned by the Guards will also be designated.
| REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS Officially the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), or Pasdaran Formed after 1979 revolution Loyal to clerics and counter to regular military Estimated 125,000 troops Includes ground forces, navy, air force, intelligence and special forces Also has political influence: dozens of ex-guard sit as MPs Iran President Ahmadinejad is a former member Source: Globalsecurity.org  |
"These actions will help to protect the international financial system from the illicit activities of the Iranian government," Ms Rice said.
The Guards' Quds Force will be further targeted under Executive Order 13224, which authorises the US to identify individuals, businesses, charities and extremist groups engaged in terrorism.
The elite wing of Revolutionary Guards has been accused by US officials of supplying powerful roadside bombs and rocket-propelled grenades to Shia militants in Iraq.
Thought to have 15,000 troops, it is responsible for conducting covert missions overseas and for forging relationships with other Shia groups.
"The Quds Force controls the policy for Iraq," the top US military commander in Iraq, Gen David Petraeus, said earlier this month. "There should be no confusion about that."
Dominant force
When reports of the designations were first reported in August, Iranian officials condemned them as "worthless resolutions" issued "under baseless pretexts... to damage this holy institution".
The Revolutionary Guards force was set up shortly after the 1979 Iranian revolution to defend the country's Islamic system, and to provide a counterweight to the regular armed forces.
It has since become the dominant military force in Iran, with past members including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and a number of his cabinet ministers.
It is estimated to have 125,000 active members, and boasts its own ground forces, navy and air force, and controls Iran's strategic weapons.
It also controls the paramilitary Basij Resistance Force and the powerful bonyads, or charitable foundations, which run a considerable part of the Iranian economy.
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