MORE SO CALLED SANCTIONS

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

California turns corner on wildfires By Adam Tanner OCT 25,07

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Firefighters gained the upper hand on nearly all of the California wildfires on Thursday as winds died down after five days battling 20 fires from the mountains north of Los Angeles down to the Mexican border. Most of the 500,000 people in the largest evacuation in California's modern history were on their way home, officials said. Some 1,600 homes have been destroyed since Sunday.Two burned bodies were found in a house in hard-hit San Diego County, bringing the death toll to at least eight. Most were elderly who died while being evacuated.This is a better day than any we've had since this thing started, San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender said.President George W. Bush, who declared California's wildfires a major disaster, was due to survey the damage with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday and check on the government's response.

It's a sad situation out there in southern California. I fully understand that the people have got a lot of anguish in their hearts and they just need to know a lot of folks care about them, Bush said before leaving the White House.He said he wanted to make sure California was receiving the help it needed to deal with the wildfires.The Federal Emergency Management Agency, criticized along with Bush for a slow response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, had 1,000 people on the ground in badly scorched San Diego County.
Though fire officials were relieved that the hot, dry Santa Ana winds driving the flames had weakened, they conceded that offshore breezes replacing them presented a danger. Even those milder winds could fan the flames, being fought by some 9,000 weary men and women.The wildfires broke out during the weekend after the Santa Ana winds began to blow and have blackened nearly 800 square miles, and injured more than 60 people, many of them firefighters.

RE-ENTRY DAY

San Diego County has suffered losses in excess of $1 billion, and three of the largest fires were still burning there, mostly in the eastern, less populated part of the county.This is going to be a re-entry day for many of the thousands of San Diegans that are out there, said Ron Lane, head of county emergency services. We are absolutely thrilled.Fewer than 1,000 people spent the night at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium, compared with some 10,000 on Monday and Tuesday. The good food, showers, acupuncture and massage at evacuees' disposal might have attracted chronically homeless street people.You see a lot of them walking around the parking lot, evacuee Jennifer Ryan said. They know a good thing when they see it.One of the most critical fires was in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, where containment of the 20,000-acre (8,094-hectare) Santiago fire suffered a setback overnight.Authorities said federal agents from the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms joined local authorities in investigating the Santiago fire as arson.Those are crime scenes, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department. He said a $70,000 reward was posted for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. Three out of four of Los Angeles County's fires had 100 percent containment, including one in the celebrity enclave of Malibu that garnered much attention in the first days. A risk modeling firm said insured fire losses from the fires would likely cost between $900 million and $1.6 billion.

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)

EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
A survey of public opinion in 52 countries released today shows the EU is the only great power in the world whose leadership is widely supported.

A global public opinion survey by Gallup International - conducted in collaboration with the European Council on Foreign Relation (ECFR) - shows that there is growing public support for a more multi-polar world, and one in every three citizens around the world (35%) would like to see the European Union's influence to grow. In an ECFR policy brief (PDF - 1 MB), Ivan Krastev and Mark Leonard point out that the EU is unique among the four big powers (the other three being the US, China and Russia) in that no-one wants to balance its rise.The 2007 edition of Voice of the People© - the world's largest survey this year based on interviews with 57,000 people from 52 countries - shows that world citizens most disapprove of an expansion of Iranian and US power. 39% of respondents would like to see Iran's power decrease, while 37% would like less US power in the world. Russia and China also provoke more negative than positive reactions. Whilst 23% and 24% of respondents, respectively, would like Russia's and China's importance to increase, 29% and 32% believe the world would benefit from a decline in their power. Accompanying the policy brief is a Love and Hate map (PDF - 3 MB), showing graphically how people in many countries around the world are calling for an increase in the EU's global influence to make the world a better place.

ECFR making an impact

The launch of ECFR has made an impact across Europe, and our Statement of Principles has received significant press coverage in the vast majority of EU member states, and further afield. The website has featured expert analysis and commentary, for example on the Ukrainian elections, on how the EU should respond to the situations in Burma and Pakistan, on the EU Reform Treaty and much more. In the coming weeks we will publish our first major policy report looking at EU's relationship with Russia. We also have forthcoming analysis on how to increase EU power at the United Nations, and on what strategies the EU should be pursuing in Afghanistan.

Statement of Principles OCT 25,07
BY EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

We call on the governments of the European Union to develop a more coherent and vigorous foreign policy, informed by our shared values, dedicated to the pursuit of our common European interests, and sustained by European power.

We endorse the following principles:

1. When faced by the great powers of today and the rising giants of tomorrow, individual European countries regard the world as beyond their control. But if it speaks with one voice, the Europe Union can help shape the world order.

2. It is only by acting together that European Union countries can effectively pursue their common interests, from combating climate change to reducing poverty, from defending human rights and averting genocide to stopping the spread of deadly weapons and addressing the causes of violent extremism.

3. The European Union's foreign policy should be backed up with all of Europe's economic, political, cultural and, as a last resort, military power. Our commitment to strong and effective multilateral institutions must be matched by a drive to increase European influence within them.

4. Starting with the European Union's neighbours, the best way to secure peace and prosperity is to honour existing commitments to countries seeking membership and to encourage political reforms with more generous offers of economic opportunity and political cooperation.

5. European transformative power can reach beyond its immediate neighbourhood. The European Union should leverage the world's largest single market and most generous aid budgets to promote the values we believe in, both in other parts of the world and in multilateral institutions.

Europeans will benefit from having a stronger voice in the world and the world will benefit from a stronger European Union.

Signed by the 50 Founding Members of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Add your voice by using the form below. All signatories of the Statement of Principles are invited to be Associates of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Netanyahu rejects compromise plan
24 Oct 2007 Source: PA News

Israel must control all of Jerusalem forever, former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said, taking a stand against a key compromise that could seal an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. His comments on Tuesday followed growing signs that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is ready to share control of Jerusalem under a final peace settlement with the Palestinians. Netanyahu and other senior members of the hawkish Likud Party climbed the Tower of David, built 2,000 years ago to protect the walls of ancient Jerusalem, and then headed to the Mount of Olives, where Jews believe the dead will be resurrected in the end of days. These news feeds are provided by an independent third party and Channel 4 is not responsible or liable to you for the same.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Putin warns against sanctions on Iran By MIKE ECKEL, Associated Press Writer OCT 25,07

LISBON, Portugal - Russia's President Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned strongly against new international sanctions on Iran, saying they would lead to a dead end. Putin, in Portugal for a summit with leaders of the European Union, said the standoff over Iran's nuclear program should be resolved through talks, pointing at North Korea as an example.Why worsen the situation and bring it to a dead end by threatening sanctions or military action, Putin said in a veiled reference to the U.S. push for harsher international sanctions against Tehran.Running around like a madman with a razor blade, waving it around, is not the best way to resolve the situation, the Russian leader said.Putin spoke after the Bush administration imposed sweeping new sanctions against Iran, cutting off key Iranian military and banking institutions from the American financial system for Tehran's alleged support for terrorism and nuclear weapons ambitions. Putin did not directly refer to the U.S. actions.

The Russia president said dialogue proved successful in dealing with North Korea. Not long ago it didn't seem possible to resolve the situation with North Korea's nuclear program, but we have practically solved it relying on peaceful means, Putin said.At the same time, Putin said that he reaffirmed Russia's strong opposition to the proliferation of nuclear weapons on his trip to Iran last week.Russia, which is building Iran's first nuclear plant, has opposed the U.S. push for harsher U.N. sanctions against Iran, saying there has been no evidence of Iran seeking nuclear weapons.Putin is in Lisbon to take on disagreements that have stood in the way of a strategic partnership agreement with the 27-nation bloc. The twice-yearly EU-Russia summits have not been upbeat events in recent years — reflecting a steady decline in relations over trade, energy, human rights, Balkan conflicts and other issues.

Russia to appoint firebrand politician to NATO-source

MOSCOW, Oct 24 (Reuters) President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree appointing a nationalist politician as Russia's permanent representative to NATO, a source close to the situation told Reuters today.Putin signed a decree yesterday appointing Dmitry Rogozin, the flamboyant former head of Russia's Motherland party, to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, said the source, who asked not to be named.Rogozin has been appointed permanent representative to NATO,the source said. The decree was signed by Putin yesterday.Rogozin, who calls himself parliament's chief diplomat, has called for Russia to rearm to counter the threat from the Western military alliance, whose expansion he said placed a foreign army at Russia's borders.A Kremlin spokesman declined to comment. The decree only becomes effective on its official publication.

When asked by Reuters whether he had been appointed, Rogozin said: I do not have any official information about this, so I can say nothing at the moment. He was quoted in 2004 by local news agencies as saying that NATO was a U.S.-dominated body that carried out the rather aggressive interests of the United States. NATO is viewed with great suspicion in Russia, where officials say expansion eastwards shows the alliance is being used by the United States and top European powers to counter Russian influence. Rogozin made his Motherland party highly popular with attacks on the West and calls to curb illegal immigration.He resigned as leader of his party last year under what activists said was pressure from the Kremlin disturbed by his popularity. And he was featured in election campaign advertisements in 2005 that a Moscow court said incited racism.Rogozin, 43, was born into a Moscow military family and studied journalism at Moscow University.He worked as Putin's representative in negotiations with the European Union over the status of Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave, after EU expansion.Konstantin Totsky, the current permanent representative, was appointed by Putin in March 2003. He is 57.

Israel holding talks with Hamas: Abbas Thu Oct 25, 11:55 AM ET

AMMAN (AFP) - Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said on Thursday that meetings have taken place between Israel and the Islamist movement Hamas which controls the Gaza Strip. But both Israel and Hamas quickly denied that such talks had taken place.We have information that some Hamas men are meeting with the Israelis at Erez (on the Israel-Gaza border). This information is almost confirmed, Abbas said after meeting Jordan's King Abdullah II.

I don't know if the meeting was for normalisation or to calm things down, Abbas said, according to the royal palace.Israel, which boycotts Hamas as a terrorist organisation, categorically denied any such meetings. This is utter nonsense, said Miri Eisin, spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.A spokesman for Hamas, which does not recognise Israel's right to exist, also issued a denial.These are baseless allegations. He wants to justify the meetings he himself is holding with the Israeli occupier despite continued Israeli aggression against our people, Samir Abu Zuhri told AFP.Abbas is due to hold talks with Olmert on Friday as part of preparations for a Middle East conference in the United States this year despite mutual recriminations over poor progress to date.

THIS IS ALL A DECEPTION ABBAS AND THE ARABS ARE PLAYING WITH ISRAEL SO THEY CAN TALK PEACE BUT PRIVATELY WANTING TO GIVE ISRAEL PIECES OF PEACE.

Chaotic Nablus: Testing ground for Abbas By ALI DARAGHMEH and DIAA HADID, Associated Press OCT 25,07

NABLUS, West Bank - The Palestinian president has chosen the West Bank's most chaotic city to show he's in control, winning U.S. praise Thursday for beefing up his security forces here as part of an attempt to reassure Israel that he can implement a future peace deal. However, Mahmoud Abbas' campaign to disarm hundreds of militants in Nablus has had mixed results.A former fighter in Abbas' Fatah movement gave up his weapon in exchange for amnesty, but is still teaching his 6-year-old son to shoot an M-16. Dozens refuse to disarm for fear of being defenseless against Israeli raids. And the rival Hamas appears to have hidden most of its arms.

Success of the law-and-order campaign is crucial for U.S.-led peace efforts, including Washington's plan to hold a Mideast conference in Annapolis, Md., later this year.Israel insists Abbas' security forces don't control the West Bank, saying that erodes its ability to make concessions. Palestinian security chiefs say Israel undermines their crackdown by restricting the movement of police and preventing them from getting enough weapons and ammunition.Abbas picked unruly Nablus, the West Bank's second-largest city with 170,000 people, as his testing ground. Since the outbreak of the second Palestinian uprising in 2000, the city has been a stronghold for Hamas and Fatah gunmen as well as vigilantes who rob and blackmail residents.Many suicide bombings and shooting attacks on Israelis were launched from Nablus, and for seven years the city has buckled under severe Israeli travel restrictions, enforced by a ring of army roadblocks.Under the security plan of Abbas and his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, 3,000 Palestinian police officers in Nablus were gradually ordered back to their jobs in recent months, after many spent most of the uprising off the streets in fear of being targeted by Israel. The governor of the Nablus district, Jamal Muheisen, said 500 more officers will be deployed in coming days.

The U.S. security coordinator with the Palestinians, Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, toured Nablus on Thursday and praised the Palestinian efforts after meeting with the local security chiefs.
This is where the Palestinian state will get its first real test, he said. When you succeed in Nablus, it will send a message throughout the West Bank and it will send a message to your neighbors that you're serious about law and order and that you can do the job.Palestinian officials said they need more guns, ammunition and freedom of movement, all of which require Israeli approval. Abdullah Kmeil, the Nablus intelligence chief, said there is only one rifle for every 10 officers, leaving security forces outgunned by militants.Congress has approved $80 million for strengthening Abbas and his security forces, and the Palestinian leader promised to rebuild security compounds destroyed by Israel in several years of fighting.The Nablus governor said Israel should halt its frequent arrest raids in Nablus, which make it harder for the Palestinian authorities to persuade Fatah gunmen to disarm. But the Israelis say they can't take any chances.

The Palestinian leadership today is not capable of implementing its obligations to rein in these groups and in the absence of this capability, Israel must act, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev.On Wednesday, Fatah gunmen claimed responsibility for a drive-by shooting in which an Israeli soldier was seriously wounded while waiting at a bus stop outside an Israeli settlement near Nablus.Israeli analyst Yossi Alpher said the Palestinian security forces simply don't have enough clout to collect all weapons. I don't think they can succeed, he said.On the other hand, human rights activists contend that Abbas' security forces have gone too far in their crackdown, especially on Hamas activists.Amnesty International said in a report this week that some 1,000 Hamas members were rounded up in the West Bank after Hamas' violent takeover of Gaza in June and that many of the detainees were mistreated. Kmeil defended the campaign as a success, saying Hamas is in a state of confusion in the West Bank. However, finding Hamas' weapons is proving to be difficult. Hamas activist Saad Khodariyeh, a 29-year-old school bus driver in Nablus, said he was recently held 26 days on suspicion of hiding an AK-47. He said that during interrogation, his hands were tied behind his back and hooked to a wall, and that his leg muscles eventually tore and got infected.

Investigators never found the suspected weapon, which Khodariyeh said he never possessed. Sheik Maher Kharas, a prominent Hamas member, said the group is simply waiting. We can hide, or keep the weapons buried under the dirt for a while, he said. But then we will rise again.The Palestinian Authority has also shut down more than 100 Hamas-linked charities and outlawed Hamas' military wing. The group's political leaders are keeping a low profile. Abbas' security forces have made sporadic efforts to disarm Islamic Jihad, a small, violent group bent on Israel's destruction. Last month, Islamic Jihad militants shot and killed a Palestinian policeman in the northern West Bank town of Jenin after he stopped their car to check for registration papers. Even gunmen loyal to Abbas are not changing their ways easily. I can't give up my weapons, because the Palestinian Authority can't protect me (against Israel), said Mehdi Abu Ghazaleh, a leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, a violent Fatah offshoot. Some 200 Al Aqsa gunmen exchanged their weapons for Israel's offer of amnesty during the summer, but some keep a spare, just in case. Mahdi Maraki, 31, handed over his M-16 in the amnesty deal, yet is teaching his two sons how to shoot. He displayed video on his mobile phone showing his chubby-cheeked 6-year-old boy spraying M-16 fire into the air.

COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL

EZEKIEL 38:10-19
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

WELL HERE WE GO AGAIN MORE SO CALLED SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN, WHEN IN THE BIBLE IT SAYS GET RID OF YOUR ENEMIES OF GOD, GEORGE W THAT MEANS BOMB IRAN NOT SANCTION IRAN.

US slaps broad new sanctions on Iran By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer OCT 25,07

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration imposed sweeping new sanctions against Iran Thursday — the harshest in nearly three decades — cutting off key Iranian military and banking institutions from the American financial system for Tehran's alleged support for terrorism and nuclear weapons ambitions. In the broadest U.S. unilateral penalties on Iran since the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in 1979, the administration slapped sanctions on Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, a main unit of its defense ministry, three of its largest banks and eight people that it said are engaged in missile trade and back extremist groups throughout the Middle East.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the moves would further isolate the Islamic republic's government by further distancing it from the international economy and discouraging its trading partners from continuing to do business with it.At the same time, they stressed that offers for negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program remain on the table and that the sacnctions are not a sign of imminent military action. The U.S. officials insist — over Iranian denials — that the nuclear program is a cover for atomic weapons development.

Unfortunately, the Iranian government continues to spurn our offer of open negotiations, instead threatening peace and security, through its nuclear program, production and export of ballistic missiles and backing for Shia insurgents in Iraq, the Taliban in Afghanistan, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, Rice said.The United States has long labeled Iran a state supporter of terrorism and has been working for years to gain support for tougher sanctions from the international community aimed at keeping the country from developing nuclear weapons. It has won two U.N. Security Council sanctions resolutions but a third has been held up by Chinese and Russian opposition.The State Department said at least two permanent members of the Security Council — Britain and France — had been informed of the sanctions before the announcement, but that Russian officials could not be reached and learned of the measures only afterward when Rice managed to get through to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the move, saying new international sanctions are not advisable.Why worsen the situation by threatening sanctions and bring it to a dead end? Putin said in a veiled reference to the U.S. push for harsher international sanctions. It's not the best way to resolve the situation by running around like a madman with a razor blade in his hand.

Rice, who also noted Iran's hardline anti-Israel stance, said the moves were part of a comprehensive policy to confront the threatening behavior of the Iranians but that Washington remains committed to a diplomatic solution.Other officials echoed that sentiment, maintaining the announcement is not a prelude to armed conflict with Iran despite concerns from some allies that the administration is building a case for war.In no way, shape of form does it anticipate the use of force, said Nicholas Burns, the State Department's No. 3 diplomat.Instead, officials said they hope the measures will increase pressure on Iran to take a deal offered last year that would give the oil-rich country economic and other incentives in exchange for dropping nuclear activities that could produce a bomb.In Tehran, the Guards' chief, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, shrugged off increased U.S. pressure on the force.Today, enemy has concentrated sharp point of its attacks on the Guards, Jafari told a military ceremony in Mashhad, east of Tehran, according to the state news agency IRNA. They have applied all their efforts to reduce the efficiency of this revolutionary body. Now as always, the corps is ready to defend the ideals of the revolution more than ever before.

Israel, on the other hand, said it was pleased.

Israel welcomes the U.S. government's decision, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said in Jerusalem. We see this as an important contribution to the international effort to intensify pressure on Iran to abandon its nuclear program.Iran has ignored previous, smaller attempts to apply international and financial sanctions, and says the conditions Washington has set for talks are unacceptable. Iran is continuing work on its nuclear program, which it says is peaceful. The sanctions target 25 Iranian entities, including individuals and companies owned or controlled by the Revolutionary Guard that play a major role in Iran's domestic economy and international trade. They are the first of their type taken by the United States specifically against the armed forces of another government. In addition to freezing any assets they may have in U.S. jurisdictions, something officials acknowledged would be of minimal effect, the sanctions also bar Americans from doing business with them. But of far greater impact, officials said, they will subject foreign firms to U.S. sanctions if they engage with the designated entities.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics — also known as IRCG — is the largest component of iran's military. It was designated as a proliferator of ballistic missile technology. The defense ministry entity is the parent organization for Iran's aerospace and ballistic missile operations. Paulson called on responsible banks and companies around the world to end relationships with the three banks and companies and affiliates of the IRGC and noted that because of the IRGC's reach into business and other spheres, it is increasingly likely that if you are doing business with Iran you are doing business with the IRGC.State-owned banks Bank Melli, Bank Mellat and Bank Saderat were named supporters of global terrorist groups for their activities in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East. Along with Bank Sepah, which was already under U.S. and U.N. sanctions, the institutions account for more than 50 percent of Iran's banking sector, Treasury officials said. As awareness of Iran's deceptive behavior has grown, many banks around the world have decided as a matter of prudence and integrity that Iran's business is simply not worth the risk, Paulson said. It is plain and simple: Reputable institutions do not want to be the bankers for this dangerous regime.The Quds Force, a part of the Guard Corps that Washington accuses of providing weapons, including powerful bombs blamed for the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq, was named a supporter of designated terrorist organizations.

The Revolutionary Guards organization, formed to safeguard Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, has pushed well beyond its military roots, and now owns car factories and construction firms and operates newspaper groups and oil fields. Current and former members now hold a growing role across the country's government and economy, sometimes openly and other times in shadows. The guards have gained a particularly big role in the country's oil and gas industry in recent years, as the national oil company has signed several contracts with a guards-operated construction company. Some have been announced publicly, including a $2 billion deal in 2006 to develop part of the important Pars gas field. Now numbering about 125,000 members, they report directly to the supreme leader — Ali Khamenei — and officially handle internal security. The small Quds Force wing is thought to operate overseas, having helped to create the militant Hezbollah group in 1982 in Lebanon and to arm Bosnian Muslims during the Balkan wars.
AP Diplomatic Correspondent Anne Gearan and Associated Press Writer Jeannine Aversa contributed to this story.