US bypasses UN with Iran sanctions
By Daniel Dombey, Hugh Williamson and Najmeh Bozorgmehr
October 25, 2007
Financial Times
Original Source: https://mail.hudsonny.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21474786/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21474786/ 
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.
But some of Washington's closest allies in Europe expressed misgivings about the steps. They fear these could complicate efforts to reach agreement on a new UN sanctions resolution, which Washington and the European Union want to see agreed over the next month.
We understand the concern of the US, but we prefer to go to the UN, said a French diplomat. Referring to Thursday's combination of anti-nuclear proliferation and anti-terrorism measures, he added: We shouldn't mix everything; for us, non-proliferation is what comes first as the pressing issue.
Under Thursday's steps, the Quds Force, the international arm of the Revolutionary Guards, is designated a supporter of terrorism for allegedly helping the Taliban and other terrorist organisations.
The Revolutionary Guard corps itself, together with the logistics arm of Iran's defence ministry, Iran's largest bank, Bank Melli, and the smaller Bank Mellat, have been classified as of proliferation concern for their alleged involvement in Iran's nuclear and ballistic missiles programmes.
That classification represents a less dramatic step, but has the effect of banning transactions between the organisations and persons or companies in the US - as well as freezing any assets they may have under US jurisdiction.
Bank Saderat, an Iranian bank previously designated by Washington as of proliferation concern, 
was also classified by the US Treasury yesterday as a financier of terrorism.
The Revolutionary Guards are not entirely a military body. About 30 per cent of their operations are business-related, generating an annual $2bn (¬ 1.4bn, £975m) - as estimated by
 some economists - in revenues.
US officials were unable on Thursday to say if any of the designated organisations had assets in the US or direct transactions with US entities. But they say the measures will choke off dollar financing for the targeted institutions by prohibiting other banks or companies from accessing the US financial system on their behalf.
They also hope for an international boycott of the named businesses.
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.
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