Clinton: US to Push for Sanctions Targeting Iran Revolutionary Guard (VOA Video 2/17/10)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is raising new concerns about Iran's Revolutionary Guard, but she says despite plans to push for new sanctions against Iran, the U.S. remains open to dialogue with it. Clinton spoke to VOA correspondent David Gollust as she ended a tour of Persian Gulf states. Her comments came as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised any nation seeking sanctions against his country will "regret" such actions. VOA's Robert Raffaele has more.

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Clinton in VOA Interview: US Focusing Sanctions on Iran's Revolutionary Guard

16 February 2010


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States is focusing sanctions on Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, asserting that the elite unit has become too involved in security, political and economic decisions.

Clinton told VOA Tuesday that Iran is becoming a more belligerent and repressive nation as the Revolutionary Guard increases its influence.

Clinton suggested the power shift from clerical and political leaders to the Revolutionary Guard may stem from Iran's inner turmoil that resulted from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in June.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki criticized Clinton for saying Monday that Iran has become a "military dictatorship."  He accused the U.S. of being like a military dictatorship through its actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.  

Clinton also warned that Iran may trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East if it obtains an atomic weapon.

In a speech Tuesday at a women's college in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Clinton said evidence does not support Iran's claim that its nuclear program is being developed for peaceful purposes only.

President Ahmadinejad responded by saying he does not take Clinton's comments seriously.

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-- Edited by Sanders on Wednesday 17th of February 2010 11:07:21 AM