U.S. Wants to Sanction Iran's Revolutionary Guard

The United States said on Monday it is discussing new sanctions to pressure Iran's government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Reuters reported. "We cannot. stand by when the Iranians themselves talk about increasing their production of high enriched uranium," said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "Our goal is to pressure the Iranian government, particularly the Revolutionary Guard elements, without contributing to the suffering of the ordinary [people], who deserve better than what they currently are receiving." The United States has previously named the Revolutionary Guard as proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and has imposed sanctions on the group's elite Qods force. Learn more about the importance Iran sanctions.

Chinese Companies Evade U.S. Sanctions on Iran

Chinese companies banned from doing business in the United States for allegedly selling missile technology to Iran continue to do a brisk trade with American companies, The Wall Street Journal reported. State-owned China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corp-"serial proliferators" according to U.S. authorities-continues to operate under aliases or subsidiary shell companies to avoid detection by the Treasury Department. "We spend a lot of time convincing other countries that we need tighter sanctions on Iran," said Gary Milhollin, a former consultant to the Pentagon on nuclear-proliferation issues. "We need to better enforce our own laws already on the books." Learn more about the importance of Iran sanctions.

Intel Report: Iran Seeking to Smuggle Raw Uranium

Iran is close to clinching a deal to clandestinely import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan, according to an intelligence report obtained Tuesday by the Associated Press. Diplomats said the assessment was heightening international concern about Tehran's nuclear activities. Such a deal would be significant because, according to an independent research group, Tehran appears to be running out of the material, which it needs to feed its uranium enrichment program. The report was drawn up by a member nation of the International Atomic Energy Agency and provided to the AP on condition that the country not be identified because of the confidential nature of the information. In Washington, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said, "the transfer of any uranium yellowcake... to Iran would constitute a clear violation of UNSC sanctions."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Offers Rare Praise for Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met yesterday with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and other senior Egyptian officials to discuss renewing Israeli-Palestinian talks, the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported. Afterward, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit offered rare praise for Netanyahu, commending him for raising various new ideas for advancing the peace process. Aboul Gheit did not offer details of Mubarak's discussion with Netanyahu at Cairo's Presidential Palace, but said he is convinced the Israeli leader is serious about resuming talks with the Palestinians. "I can't talk about details, but the prime minister was discussing positions that surpass, in our estimate, what we've heard from them in a long time," Aboul Gheit said. "I can't say that he has come with changed positions, but he is moving forward."

Iranian Regime Cracks Down on Opposition

Opposition activists said Iranian security forces rounded up at least seven prominent activists on Monday, stepping up a crackdown on the country's pro-reform movement a day after eight people, including the nephew of the chief opposition leader, were killed in anti-government protests, The Washington Post reported. The bloodshed, some of the heaviest in months, drew an especially harsh condemnation from one opposition leader, who compared the government to the brutal regime that was ousted by the Islamic Revolution three decades ago. The White House condemned the Iranian regime for assaulting its citizens. "We strongly condemn the violent and unjust suppression of civilians in Iran seeking to exercise their universal rights," the statement said. "Hope and history are on the side of those who peacefully seek their universal rights, and so is the United States."