breaking news: rice files sanctions against iran

And this just in... My fears of trouble ahead between the US and Irn are growing. What will this and the above post lead to?????
Link at bottom of the post. If this is the same as above I am sorry to have over posted briansol, it is this story was largerer and i have a link to it and more. So I thought they might be some difference in the story or actions by the 4 minutes ago in the header.

US slaps broad new sanctions on Iran By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
4 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - The Bush administration imposed sweeping new sanctions against Iran Thursday — the harshest in nearly three decades — cutting off key Iranian military and banking institutions from the American financial system for Tehran's alleged support for terrorism and nuclear weapons ambitions.

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In the broadest U.S. unilateral penalties on Iran since the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in 1979, the administration slapped sanctions on Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, a main unit of its defense ministry, three of its largest banks and eight people that it said are engaged in missile trade and back extremist groups throughout the Middle East.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the moves would further isolate the Islamic republic's government by further distancing it from the international economy and discouraging its trading partners from continuing to do business with it.

At the same time, they stressed that offers for negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program remain on the table and that the sacnctions are not a sign of imminent military action. The U.S. officials insist — over Iranian denials — that the nuclear program is a cover for atomic weapons development.

"Unfortunately, the Iranian government continues to spurn our offer of open negotiations, instead threatening peace and security," through its nuclear program, production and export of ballistic missiles and backing for Shia insurgents in Iraq, the Taliban in Afghanistan, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, Rice said.

The United States has long labeled Iran a state supporter of terrorism and has been working for years to gain support for tougher sanctions from the international community aimed at keeping the country from developing nuclear weapons. It has won two U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions but a third has been held up by Chinese and Russian opposition.

Rice, who also noted Iran's hardline anti-Israel stance, said the moves were part of "a comprehensive policy to confront the threatening behavior of the Iranians" but that Washington remains committed to "a diplomatic solution."

Other officials echoed that sentiment, maintaining the announcement is not a prelude to armed conflict with Iran despite concerns from some allies that the administration is building a case for war.

"In no way, shape of form does it anticipate the use of force," said Nicholas Burns, the State Department's No. 3 diplomat.

Instead, officials said they hope the measures will increase pressure on Iran to take a deal offered last year that would give the oil-rich country economic and other incentives in exchange for dropping nuclear activities that could produce a bomb.

In Tehran, the Guards' chief, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, shrugged off increased U.S. pressure on the force.

"Today, enemy has concentrated sharp point of its attacks on the Guards," Jafari told a military ceremony in Mashhad, east of Tehran, according to the state news agency IRNA. "They have applied all their efforts to reduce the efficiency of this revolutionary body. Now as always, the corps is ready to defend the ideals of the revolution more than ever before."

Israel, on the other hand, said it was pleased with the sanctions.

"Israel welcomes the U.S. government's decision," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said in Jerusalem. "We see this as an important contribution to the international effort to intensify pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear program."

Iran has ignored previous, smaller attempts to apply international and financial sanctions, and says the conditions Washington has set for talks are unacceptable. Iran is continuing work on its nuclear program, which it says is peaceful.

The sanctions target 25 Iranian entities, including individuals and companies owned or controlled by the Revolutionary Guard that play a major role in Iran's domestic economy and international trade. The are the first of their type taken by the United States specifically against the armed forces of another government.

In addition to freezing any assets they may have in U.S. jurisdictions, something officials acknowledged would be of minimal effect, the sanctions also bar Americans from doing business with them.

But of far greater impact, officials said, they will subject foreign firms to U.S. sanctions if they engage with the designated entities.

Paulson called on "responsible banks and companies around the world" to end relationships with the three banks and companies and affiliates of the IRGC and noted that because of the IRGC's reach into business and other spheres, "it is increasingly likely that if you are doing business with Iran you are doing business with the IRGC."

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 U.S. and U.N. sanctions, the institutions account for more than 50 percent of Iran's banking sector, Treasury officials said.

"As awareness of Iran's deceptive behavior has grown, many banks around the world have decided as a matter of prudence and integrity that Iran's business is simply not worth the risk," Paulson said. "It is plain and simple: Reputable institutions do not want to be the bankers for this dangerous regime."

The Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics were designated proliferators of ballistic missile technology. The Corps, also known as the IRCG, is the largest component of Iran's military. The defense ministry entity is the parent organization for Iran's aerospace and ballistic missile operations.

The Quds Force, a part of the Guard Corps that Washington accuses of providing weapons, including powerful bombs blamed for the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, was named a supporter of designated terrorist organizations.

The Revolutionary Guards organization, formed to safeguard Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, has pushed well beyond its military roots, and now owns car factories and construction firms and operates newspaper groups and oil fields.

Current and former members now hold a growing role across the country's government and economy, sometimes openly and other times in shadows.

The guards have gained a particularly big role in the country's oil and gas industry in recent years, as the national oil company has signed several contracts with a guards-operated construction company. Some have been announced publicly, including a $2 billion deal in 2006 to develop part of the important Pars gas field.

Now numbering about 125,000 members, they report directly to the supreme leader and officially handle internal security. The small Quds Force wing is thought to operate overseas, having helped to create the militant Hezbollah group in 1982 in Lebanon and to arm Bosnian Muslims during the Balkan wars.

___

AP Diplomatic Correspondent Anne Gearan and Associated Press Writer Jeannine Aversa contributed to this story.
US slaps broad new sanctions on Iran - Yahoo! News

"And this just in... My fears of trouble ahead between the US and Irn are growing. What will this and the above post lead to?????"

Wow. That's terrible. Have you shared your fears with Bush or somebody close to him?

Lol!!

No just the likes of you two it seems....... looooooooool :peace:

I quite like this Pinochet dude. Keeps us guessing about his position.

Re. Iran, I was in Teheran in 2004.

- great people, great city, the people have huge contempt for their religious leaders but at same time equal contempt for Bush.

- Met an old man who said that Bush was the Mullahs best friend. I asked why. he said that Bush had given Iraq on a silver platter to Iran.

- Were our moron of a President really to bomb Iran, he would force the people - who as I said earlier heartily dislike the Mullahs - to support the regime. Remember they are a proud people and will not tolerate an amercian adventure. Iran is not a tinpot dictatorship like Iraq. Iraq has already screwed us out of shape. What do you think will happen in Iran? A mere few bombing sorties will achieve nothing. To do something our head idiot will have to send in our kids. If our forces go in, the **** really hits the fan. The Iraq aftermath will look like a wlak in the park.


But having said that, there is little doubt that the Administration is up to its old tricks and the wheels are in motion. It appears we have just one game plan:
- raise a boogey.
- tell lies to create a terror situation.
- accuse the other side and keep accusing.
- intervene.
- get a bloody nose
- get out.

The above game plan was followed in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and now the same will be applied to Iran. We need to at least try and be original for chrissake.

Will we never learn? People will fight like the devil if their homes are threatened. Examples:
- The American war of Independence.
- Vietnam against French aggression.
- Vietnam against American aggression.
- Afghanistan against Soviet aggression.
- Sri Lanka Tamils against Indian intervention.
- Iraq against American aggression.

What would you do if someone invaded your home?

It amazes me that so many Americans genuinely expected to be greeted as liberators in Iraq.

Lesson in real life: However much a people may despise their rulers, they will almost invariably support the same rulers against a foreign invader. That is human nature & human pride. Lets learn this freaking lesson NOW so that fewer of our children need die.

President Tom is in power by popular consent. I don't buy this nonsense that he's on the brink of being toppled. He's saying all the right things to keep the millions of hate-mongers in Iran thrilled out of their crazed minds.

Sanctions will fail just as it has always has in the past. Their are nations just like some individuals who do not care if they will have to suffer for what they believe. But simply because one has nuclear capability does not mean that their intention is evil. But on the other hand, if the USA has evil intentions they will not want those who seek to deter the US government from carrying out its sinister act, will seek to demonize its indented victim. If the USA was really concerned about true peace, they would be getting rid of their WMD as well....one lead by example. What these people in the white house want is control. Once they get a hold of what the world needs, then no one will be in a position to challenge them.


Remember the speech that senior Bush said? A new world order, a new idea. They are in the process of bringing that new world order about.

Iran's solution is the HIDDEN IMAM. When that bad boy returns from the dead, he's gonna kick some pancake butt. Lemme tell ya.

This is how I see it. The United States has been working towards interfacing with the rest of the world since this great country was created. It is not Bush's fault, it is not Clinton's fault. All of this has been a long time in the making.

But just for pretend lets talk about an instant solution. We pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Right now no questions asked. Everyone is back home in 1 month lets say. Oh yeah we may as well pull out of Germany, Japan, S. Korea ect. you get the point. So now everyone is home and happy. No more solders dieing.

The whole world is stunned, they kinda walk around confused and then Iran finishes its Nuke program because no one cars any more, Korea and China quickly follow suite. So.... here we have three crazy ass countries with Nukes. Looks like it is game over in the middle east now. Glass parking lot, the Far East falls off into the ocean Russia is laughing and fires up its cold war antics once again.

The rest of the world that survives do you know what happens? Do you know what our own people would say? We should have done something. We should have stopped these people that are up to no good. We knew all along what they where gonna do and we did nothing.

I think we all lose sight of the fact that some times the absolute hardest thing anyone can do is the right thing. We are not a country that can turn a blind eye. We are not a country that can say eh the other guys will take care of it. I wish we where so our friends, brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers and most of all our Countryman did not have to help those who lack the ability to help themselves.

All I am saying is if things did go south that is what would happen. I am no more paranoid than everyone else. But hindsight is 20-20. You are exactly right that no one knows what will happen before it does. But we must take educated guess. Does Iran hate Israel? What would Iran like to see happen to Israel? What would really help Iran in its "Holy War"? Maybe I am paranoid of people that don't like to play by the rule having easy access to tools to annihilate an entire race/country.

Well as for me, I have better use for my mind than sit and worry about what if this nation or that nation were to have this or that weapon. Or what if the US does not intervene here or their to prevent this or that nation from acquiring technology that it (USA) has decided that certain nations should not have. The course of the world has already been laid out by God in the Bible, and yes the Bible mentions some very horrible things that will happen just before Jesus returns (no nation can prevent what God has determined to happen from happening), but the good news is that in the end, God's people win….good triumphs over evil, because God will for the sake of His people not allow mankind under the influence of Satan to destroy itself and the world…so don’t be overly concern God has everything under His control.

A 'Twelver' madman like President Tom doesn't give a hang about sanctions. He probably laughed his hairy ass off when he heard Rice filed them. Today at Catholic Mass, I asked God to get Islam under control. :bangin:

China and North Korea already have nukes, so does Pakistan, and India who gives a ****. Terrorist could get them from Pakistan, and soon it will probably be easier for them to aquire them from Pakistan than it is now. There's so many damn nukes on this planet we could blow the whole world up hundreds, and hundreds of times over. Fact is it would be impossible for Iran to deliver a high yield warhead to America via ICBM, and anything you could smuggle in on you person would be a small dirty bomb at best, which is already very possible. The actual threat of a nuclear attack on America, while scary, is VERY remote, but it sure does sound good when you are a lame duck trying to start world war III, so you can cut another notch in your belt.

If America, or I should say, this dogshit administration, actually cared about the security of America, they would implement real security on our ports and borders. Of course national security is NOT on their priority list for real, because securing America would imped socialized globalization that the neocons, and democrats want. IT's all a ******* scam, while the public bickers over bullshit, and we get whipped into a fervor for war because of big, bad, scary muslims, our own government, both factions of the single party we are governed by, is selling our country down the river. Americans need to WAKE THE **** UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They will wake up....when it's too late.

"I AM THE HIDDEN IMAM, AND WHEN I GET MY CLAWS ON NUKES, I'M GONNA BLOW AWAY ISRAEL WITHIN SECONDS."
-- 12th Imam, Tehran, Iran

I guess my biggest problem with letting it go uncontrolled is if something did happen as a direct result from Iran producing nukes a lot of people would blame the U.S. for not doing any thing. I am not so naive enough to believe that terrorists or Bill Gates or Donald Trump could not simply fly to Mother Russia and pick up a few crates full of nukes. My major point being that no matter what happens people will be pissed at the US one way or another. Am I deathly afraid of a nuclear attack? Not so much, I lived down range from the Umatilla Chemical Depot and Hanford. You may recognize the name Hanford, they played a small part in our nuclear bombs

I actually read a great article in Scientific America Nov. 2007. They raised a good point about both the USA and Russia, how can we as world super powers both maintain very large nuclear arsenals and tell others they cannot develop there own. Having read this last night it made me think about that question pretty seriously. How is it that we tell others no when we are still going to have around 2,000 nukes at our disposal after "disarming" our selves. We are also planning on replacing a very large portion of current warheads.

Bomb Iranian nuke sites, now. Bomb them. Bomb them some more. Keep bombing them. Even if we don't blow them up, the bombing will keep the technicians and scientists away.

So will the wave of terrorist bombing western cultures suffer from us continuing to bomb and destroy middle eastern countries.