WASHINGTON, 26 October 2007 — The United States announced sweeping new sanctions against Iran yesterday — the harshest since the takeover of the American Embassy in 1979 — charging anew that Tehran supports terrorism in the Middle East, exports missiles and is engaging in a nuclear buildup.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the moves against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, an element of its Defense Ministry and three of its largest banks are designed to punish Tehran for weapons proliferation and alleged support of terrorist organizations in Iraq and the Middle East.
“Unfortunately the Iranian government continues to spurn our offer of open negotiations, instead threatening peace and security,” through its disputed nuclear program, production and export of ballistic missiles and backing for Shiite insurgents in Iraq, the Taleban in Afghanistan, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Hamas movement in Gaza, Rice said.
The sanctions are unilateral and are the first of their type taken by the United States against the armed forces of another government. They will cut off more than 20 Iranian entities, including individuals and companies owned or controlled by the Revolutionary Guard, from the American financial system and will likely have ripple effects throughout the international banking community.
State-owned banks Bank Melli, Bank Mellat and Bank Saderat were named supporters of global terrorist groups for their activities in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East. Along with Bank Sepah, which was already under US and UN sanctions, the institutions account for more than 50 percent of Iran’s banking sector, Treasury officials said.
Iran’s Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics were designated proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile technology.
The Revolutionary Guards, also known as the IRCG, is the largest component of Iran’s military and has influence in business and other spheres. The Defense Ministry entity is the parent organization for Iran’s aerospace and ballistic missile operations.
The Quds Force, which was named a supporter of designated terrorist organizations, is a part of the Guard Corps that Washington accuses of providing weapons, including powerful bombs blamed for the deaths of US soldiers in Iraq.
Yesterday’s actions mean that any assets found in the United States belonging to the designated groups must be frozen. Americans are also forbidden from doing business with the designated organizations.
