US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today the United States would cut off Iran's "malignant" activities in Iraq and was working urgently to impose more punitive measures against Tehran.
Speaking to the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Rice said Washington was looking closely at "new designations" against Tehran, which the United States accuses of fomenting violence in Iraq and of pursuing an atomic bomb.
"One of our best levers, and it is a really simple proposition, Iran should not be able to use the international financial system to move its ill-gotten gains from proliferation or terrorism around the world," she said.
"We are working very urgently to get some of that ready," she said of new sanctions against Iran. She did not provide details of when or what might be imposed.
However, US officials say the Bush administration is very close to imposing restrictions on the elite Qods force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the United States accuses of arming and training militants in Iraq.
In her prepared testimony, Rice said Iran was jeopardizing the security and prosperity of its neighbors by supporting extremist forces across the region.
"Iran is supporting select Shia militants in Iraq who kill innocent Iraqi civilians, Iraqi security personnel and coalition forces," she said.