Diplomacy

Clinton: Iran 'Becoming a Military Dictatorship'

Says Revolutionary Guard has supplanted government.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Monday that Iran is “becoming a military dictatorship.” In a speech at a Qatar university, Clinton said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has become so powerful that it has supplanted the government. The U.S. announced Thursday that it would impose sanctions on a construction company, run by the Guard, whose profits are said to fund Iran’s nuclear program. Aides to the secretary said she would be pushing China to join the sanctions and pressing Saudi Arabia to reassure China that any oil shortfalls resulting from the sanctions would be covered by the Saudis. China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, currently opposes the sanctions. Clinton stressed that Iran’s nuclear program was not peaceful, as the country claims: "I would like to figure out a way to handle it in as peaceful an approach possible, and I certainly welcome any meaningful engagement, but... we don't want to be engaging while they are building their bomb."