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Iran defiant at new US sanctions Iran defiant at new US sanctions
(31 minutes later)
Iran has responded defiantly to new sanctions imposed by the US targeting Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and three state-owned banks.Iran has responded defiantly to new sanctions imposed by the US targeting Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps and three state-owned banks.
The Iranian foreign ministry said the sanctions were doomed to failure.The Iranian foreign ministry said the sanctions were doomed to failure.
The US move came as a senior American diplomat accused Russia and China of aiding and abetting Iran's military. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the measures are to "confront the threatening behaviour of the Iranians".
US Assistant Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said Russia should stop selling weapons to Iran and China should stop investing in the country. But both China and Russia criticised the sanctions. Russian President Vladimir Putin likened the US move to "mad people wielding razor blades".
"[China is] the number-one trade partner with Iran," Mr Burns told the BBC. Earlier, US Assistant Secretary of State Nicholas Burns criticised Russia for selling weapons to Iran and China for investing in the country.
"It's very difficult for countries to say we're striking out on our own when they've got their own policies on the military side, aiding and abetting the Iranian government in strengthening its own military." He told the BBC: "It's very difficult for countries to say we're striking out on our own when they've got their own policies on the military side, aiding and abetting the Iranian government in strengthening its own military."
Mr Burns said that despite differences with both Russia and China the US still hoped that the UN Security Council would approve a third resolution imposing new sanctions this November. 'Doomed to failure'
He said he hoped Iran would be persuaded to move away from confrontation and choose to negotiate. Iran's foreign ministry condemned the sanctions.
"We want to be at the negotiating table, we want a peaceful resolution of this dispute. But to reinforce diplomacy, sometimes it has to have a tough side to it," he said.
'Hostile' Americans
The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jafari, set the tone for Iran's response to the new sanctions, saying the Guards Corps was now ready to defend the ideals of the revolution more than ever before.
Iran's foreign ministry also condemned the move.
REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS Officially the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), or PasdaranFormed after 1979 revolutionLoyal to clerics and counter to regular militaryEstimated 125,000 troopsIncludes ground forces, navy, air force, intelligence and special forcesAlso has political influence: dozens of ex-guard sit as MPs Iran President Ahmadinejad is a former member Source: Globalsecurity.org US turns heat up on Iran Timeline: US-Iran relations Send us your commentsREVOLUTIONARY GUARDS Officially the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), or PasdaranFormed after 1979 revolutionLoyal to clerics and counter to regular militaryEstimated 125,000 troopsIncludes ground forces, navy, air force, intelligence and special forcesAlso has political influence: dozens of ex-guard sit as MPs Iran President Ahmadinejad is a former member Source: Globalsecurity.org US turns heat up on Iran Timeline: US-Iran relations Send us your comments
"The hostile American policies towards the respectable people of Iran and the country's legal institutions are contrary to international law, without value and, as in the past, doomed to failure," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said. Spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said: "The hostile American policies towards the respectable people of Iran and the country's legal institutions are contrary to international law, without value and, as in the past, doomed to failure."
The BBC correspondent in Tehran, Jon Leyne, says the sanctions could be very damaging for Iran economically. The head of the Revolutionary Guards, Mohammad Ali Jaafari, said the corps was ready to defend the ideals of the revolution more than ever before.
The Revolutionary Guards are thought to control around a third of the country's economy, including car factories, newspapers and oil and gas fields. Correspondents in Tehran say the sanctions could be very damaging for Iran as the Revolutionary Guards are thought to control a third of the country's economy and foreign firms may now be deterred from dealing with them.
Foreign companies will be deterred from dealing with them or anyone connected with them for fear of economic retaliation by the United States, our correspondent says. Mr Putin's comment came ahead of an EU-Russia summit in Mafra, near the Portuguese capital Lisbon.
'Destabilising' force BBC Europe editor, Mark Mardell, says that behind the president's colourful language, diplomatic sources say there is a real Russian irritation, a belief that new sanctions are the wrong approach and only make Iran less likely to give up its nuclear programme.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice described the new sanctions as part of "a comprehensive policy to confront the threatening behaviour of the Iranians". Russia is helping Iran construct a nuclear reactor.
The US declared the Revolutionary Guards a "proliferator of weapons of mass destruction", a reference to ballistic missiles they are allegedly developing, while their elite overseas operations arm, the Quds Force, was singled out as a "supporter of terrorism". On Friday, China's foreign ministry said Beijing was "opposed to imposing sanctions too rashly in international relations", saying it "can only make the situation more complicated".
Western nations suspect Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons, although Tehran says its programme is purely peaceful.
Military strike
Ms Rice tried to play down any rift with Russia, saying neither wanted a nuclear-armed Iran.
"After all, Moscow is a lot closer to Iran than the United States," she said.
Dick Cheney is thought to be pressing for a military strike
She strongly defended the sanctions, saying: "The international community cannot just sit idly by... A nuclear weapon in the hands of the Iranian regime would be deeply destabilising in the world's most volatile region."
Mr Burns said that despite differences with both Russia and China the US still hoped that the UN Security Council would approve a third resolution imposing new sanctions this November.
The US has repeatedly accused Iran of destabilising Iraq and Afghanistan, blaming the Revolutionary Guards for supplying and training insurgents.The US has repeatedly accused Iran of destabilising Iraq and Afghanistan, blaming the Revolutionary Guards for supplying and training insurgents.
Under Executive Order 13382, US authorities will be able to freeze the assets of, and prohibit any US citizen or organisation from doing business with the Revolutionary Guards. The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says Condoleezza Rice continues to be committed to finding a diplomatic resolution to the crisis.
Iran's ministry of defence, which controls the country's defence industry, three Iranian banks, and several companies owned by the Guards will also be designated. However, he says Vice-President Dick Cheney is widely believed to be pressing for a military strike on Iran before the Bush administration's term is over, and if these sanctions have no effect, Ms Rice may well have to give way to his strategy.
Ms Rice has reiterated a commitment to finding a diplomatic resolution to the crisis and has offered to meet "my Iranian counterpart any time, anywhere" - words that would be unimaginable coming from the lips of Vice-President Dick Cheney, says the BBC's Justin Webb in Washington.
Mr Cheney is widely believed to be pressing for a military strike on Iran before the Bush administration's term is over, our correspondent says.
If these sanctions have no effect, Ms Rice may well have to give way to those in and around the White House who believe the time for diplomacy is over, he says.