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    October 26, 2011

Clinton Concerned Over Trend Toward Military Rule in Iran

   David Gollust | The State Department

   Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the Iranian Revolutionary
   Guards Corps is becoming more involved in running the country and that
   Iran may be heading toward military dictatorship. In an interview with
   VOA's Persian News Network, PNN, Clinton said the United States plans
   an on-line embassy, and wants to circumvent what she termed Iran's
   'electronic curtain.'

   IFRAME: [1]http://www.youtube.com/embed/BynZKOTKtm4?rel=0

   Secretary Clinton has expressed concern about a military dictatorship
   in Iran before. But her comments to VOA Wednesday were her most
   explicit on the issue thus far.
   In an interview with the popular Persian News Network program Parazit,
   Clinton noted news reports that the Iranian leadership might eliminate
   the elected post of president. She said the Revolutionary Guards, an
   elite wing of the military, is 'becoming more and more involved' in the
   country's economy.
   'The Quds force and other elements of the security establishment taking
   financial stakes or taking over certain economic enterprises - that's
   part of what I mean about our seeing that there seems to be a moving
   toward a more military takeover in effect in Iran," she said.
   Clinton said the United States is considering more sanctions to
   persuade Iran to end suspected efforts to build nuclear weapons. 'The
   strongest sanctions were adopted by the United Nations when it became
   abundantly clear that the regime is pursuing a nuclear weapons program.
   Everyone believes that the covert actions, the covert facilities, the
   misleading information, is part of an attempt by the regime to acquire
   nuclear weapons, which would be very de-stabilizing," she said.
   But, she said, the U.S. is pursuing a two-track strategy of sanctions
   and diplomacy.
   Her interview comes two weeks after the Quds Force of the Revolutionary
   Guards was implicated in a plot to assassinate the ambassador from
   Saudi Arabia in Washington.
   The Secretary of State said the United States does not seek conflict
   with the Iranian government, but wants to support those in Iran seeking
   democratic reform.
   Parazit, a satirical news show, primarily reaches younger Iranians
   through the Internet and satellite broadcasts.
   Clinton said the U.S. is trying several ways to circumvent what she
   called Tehran's 'electronic curtain' including the creation of an
   on-line 'virtual embassy' for Iran.
   'What we are going to do despite the fact that we do not have
   diplomatic relations is I am going to announce the opening of a virtual
   embassy in Tehran. The Web site will be up and going at the end of the
   year. We're going to continue to reach out particularly to students and
   encourage that you come back and study in the United States. And we're
   going to look for other people-to-people exchanges," she said.
   Clinton said the United States would like to see Iran's government
   change and begin to support the human rights and aspirations of its
   people.
   She said there are 'reasons for regret on both sides' in the two
   countries' troubled history over the past half-century and that the
   United States would like to 'forge a new relationship.'
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References

   1. http://www.youtube.com/embed/BynZKOTKtm4?rel=0
   2. http://twitter.com/VOAMiddleEast
   3. http://www.facebook.com/pages/VOAMiddleEastVoices/124360240958667?%20%20%20%20v=wall