October 25, 2007

U.S. Unveils Unilateral Sanctions Against Iran

UPDATED.

The Bush administration rolled out a new round of sanctions targeting Iran's military today, including designating the powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and the Quds force -- a branch of the Revolutionary Guard in charge of foreign operations -- a supporter of terrorism.

The unilateral sanctions are the toughest on Iran since university students overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and sparked the Iranian hostage crisis 20 years ago. The current round of sanctions is unprecedented, the Washington Post, reports, because its adoption "marks the first time that the United States has tried to isolate or punish another country's military."

At the White House news conference with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice this morning, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson also announced moves against three Iranian banks, designating them as terror financiers.

"As awareness of Iran's deceptive behavior has grown, many banks have decided... that Iran's business is simply not worth the risk," Paulson said.

Senior administration officials also told the Post, which broke the story, that the goal of the sanctions is to "make a pariah of the most critical parts of Iran's military and its defense and commercial industries." An official is quoted in the story as saying the move is "designed to send a message to Iran that there will be a cost to what they do. We decided on them because we have seen no change in Iranian behavior."

The British government has already come out in support of the sanctions, and Haaretz reports today that some prominent members of the European Union are also seeking to put more pressure on the Iranian government through tougher economic sanctions of their own.

But another U.S. ally seemed less than thrilled with the administration's announcement this morning. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has appeared to adopt a friendlier tone toward Iran in the face of Bush's pleas for toughness, took a veiled swipe at the new sanctions during an EU summit in Portugal today.

"Why worsen the situation and bring it to a dead end by threatening sanctions or military action?" Putin said, arguing that diplomatic talks are the best way to deal with international objections to Iran's nuclear program. "Running around like a madman with a razor blade, waving it around, is not the best way to resolve the situation," Putin added. He made his remarks after Rice and Paulson announced the new sanctions this morning.

The London Guardian has an analysis of what the sanctions mean for the U.S.'s escalating standoff with Iran. Meanwhile, AP scans Europe's reaction, and The Caucus surveys the impact U.S.-Iranian relations are having on the presidential race.

Posted at 2:30 PM
Posted to: Iran, Middle East
Share via