By Daniel Dombey in Washington, Hugh Williamson in Berlin and Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran
Financial Times
October 25, 2007
Washington announced a raft of new unilateral sanctions against Iran on Thursday, targeting the elite international Quds Force unit of the Revolutionary Guards and Tehran's largest bank.
The new US curbs come at a time when the United Nations has been unable to agree measures of its own.
Unveiling the package, Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, and Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, called for other countries and international financial institutions to fall in line with the US moves.
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"These actions will help to protect the international financial system from the illicit activities of the Iranian government," said Ms Rice. "They will provide a powerful deterrent to every international bank and company that thinks of doing business with the Iranian government."
. . .
Thursday's move comes in the context of increased US frustration over Russian and Chinese reluctance to agree a package of UN sanctions against Iran - including steps against Bank Melli.
"We are six months past the date where we should have seen a third [UN] Security Council resolution," said Nicholas Burns, US undersecretary of state, yesterday, in a reference to deadlines set by two previous UN sanctions resolutions.
However, Russia has warned the west it will be less willing to contemplate UN action if the US or EU make unilateral moves - a warning heeded by some of the US's allies in Europe
