Israel welcomes US sanctions on Iran

The Bush administration slapped serious sanctions on Iran Thursday designed to isolate it from the world economy, escalating the pressure on the Islamic Republic to stop its nuclear defiance and on allies to comply with the US stance. The new measures designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics as weapons proliferators, and the Quds Force off-shoot of the IRGC a supporter of terrorist organizations.

Two Iranian banks, Melli and Mellat, were also cited for proliferation-related activity and a third, Bank Saderat, was labeled a terror financier.

The classification means any US assets of 25 named IRGC companies and individuals would be frozen and Americans would be barred from doing business with them. Most significantly, US officials said, foreign firms would be subject to American sanctions should they engage with the designated entities. More...