Bush administration announces new sanctions against Iran  
Thursday, October 25th, 2007

The Bush administration has announced today a policy of new sanctions against Iran, after accusing an Iran military unit (the Quds division of the Revolutionary Guard Corps) of supporting terrorism and proliferating weapons of mass destruction.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (who recently had a run-in with CODE Pink protestors) and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced the new sanctions at a State Department press conference.

"Because of the Revolutionary Guards' support for proliferation, and because of the Quds force support for terrorism...the United States today is designating both of these groups," Condi read off of some sheet.

"If Iran's rulers choose to continue down a path of confrontation, the United States will act, with the Internation Committee, to resist these threats of the Iranian regime."

Here we go.  Proliferating is the Bush administration's new favorite word, by the way, after Bush was so proud of himself for pronouncing it correctly last month about North Korea.

It is the first time the U.S. has ever placed unilateral economic sanctions against the armed forces of a sovereign government.  The sanctions affect 20 Iranian companies, major banks, the defense ministry, and individuals, from the US financial system.

It is an effort to limit Iran's nuclear program and to "increase the costs to Iran of its irresponsible behavior."

You can watch a short video clip of the news conference announcement here.  We'll post the whole video as soon as we get it.

proliferation: a rapid and often excessive spread or increase; usually refers to the growth or production of cells by multiplication of parts.  From the French word prolifere meaning procreative, or the Latin word proles, meaning offspring.

   

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