Secretary of State Clinton Warns Iran
Iran is rapidly evolving into a military dictatorship.
Speaking to students in Qatar, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton stated that, “We see that the government of Iran, the supreme leader, the president, the parliament, is being supplanted and that Iran is moving toward a military dictatorship. That is our view.”
Asked if Washington planned to attack Iran, she replied: “No, we are planning to try to bring the world community together in applying pressure to Iran through sanctions adopted by the United Nations that will be particularly aimed at those enterprises controlled by the Revolutionary Guard, which we believe is, in effect, supplanting the government of Iran.”
According to Reuters, her remarks were the most open assessment by a senior U.S. official about what they regard as the growing influence of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, an elite force whose influence has grown in recent years through a network of banks, shipping firms and other companies under its control.
Clinton added, “But we want the world united in sending an unequivocal message to Iran that we will not stand idly by while you pursue a nuclear program that can be used to threaten your neighbors and even beyond.”
On Sunday, Clinton urged Iran to reconsider its “dangerous policy decisions”.
“Mrs Clinton is targeting the Revolutionary Guards with her rhetoric because she wants to target them with sanctions,” the BBC’s world affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds says.
Our Secretary of State continues to show that she is made of the right stuff.
