In a recent controversial development the Bush administration in the United States is moving to declare that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is a foreign terrorist organization.  This signals a more confrontational approach towards Iran and would be the first time that the United States has added the armed forces of a sovereign government to its list of terrorist organizations.  Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has warned of this move in her meetings with European counterparts saying that a delay in efforts to win approval for more stringent  sanctions against Iran from the United Nations Security Council was leaving the US administration with little choice but unilateral action.  The Revolutionary Guard Corps is a legitimate and the largest branch of Iran's military which is responsible for defending the nation and Iran's sovereignty. Only some elements or small groups within the RGC are responsible for taking part in providing munitions, training and other support to Shiite militants in Iraq.  It may be better for the US administration to single out these special foreign based groups of the Revolutionary Guard for declaring as a "foreign terrorist organization", and not the entire RGC organization as this might prove to be counter productive in the long run in reaching diplomatic solutions with Iran.  

A tougher approach to Iran seems to be the new policy being followed by the US administration, and there is more talk of military action again in Washington and in some of the US media.  Former CIA analyst Robert Baer, who has written several books on Al-Qaeda and the Middle East, has just written a piece in Time Magazine called "Prelude to an attack on Iran" in which he shows how the Revolutionary Guards will be portrayed as terrorists and linked to the armor penetrating projectiles used in Iraq, and this will be taken as a pretext to wage war against Iran.  He quotes an Administration official who says that these improvised explosive devices (IEDs) "are a casus belli for this Administration. There will be an attack on Iran."  Then recently John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, appeared on FOX news and when asked a question based on Baer's report, Bolton said he "absolutely hopes" it is true that bombs will start falling on Iran within six months.  The US administration also received tacit support for its "all options, including military force, remain on the table" policy from an unlikely European ally, namely the President of France. In his first major foreign policy speech as the new French president, Nicolas Sarkozy said that Iran could be attacked militarily if it did not live up to its international obligations to curb its nuclear program.  Mr. Sarkozy stressed that such an outcome would be catastrophic.