US announces sanctions against Iran's Revolutionary Guards

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Thursday morning a set of sanctions against Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the most powerful arm of that country's fighting forces. Before the announcement, The Washington Post described the sanctions as an "unprecedented package" against a military group that US officials say are proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and supporters of terrorism.

[The sanctions plan] marks the first time that the United States has tried to isolate or punish another country's military. It is the broadest set of punitive measures imposed on Tehran since the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy, the officials said.