New sanctions boost talk of war with Iran

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration's decision on Thursday to slap more sanctions on Tehran is aimed at hiking diplomatic pressure over its nuclear program but experts say it will be seen by many as a step closer to war.

Talk of war and anti-Iranian rhetoric has mounted in recent months over Tehran's refusal to give up sensitive nuclear work the West says is aimed at building a bomb, with so-called hawks in the administration pushing for action before President George W. Bush's term ends in January, 2009.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, while repeating that "all options remain on the table", says the focus is on diplomacy but Iran analysts said the new measures will be viewed by Russia and others as a precursor to confrontation.

"While this will probably be interpreted as move towards war, the people behind this probably are trying to avert military confrontation," said Iran analyst Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Russia, which has the power to block a third sanctions resolution the United States is pushing in the United Nations Security Council, ridiculed U.S. tactics on Iran.

"Running around like a mad man with a blade in one's hand is not the best way to solve such problems," Russian President Vladimir Putin said when told of the new sanctions.

Democratic presidential contenders John Edwards and Dennis Kucinich, both critics of the Iraq war, accused the administration of plotting a war against Iran.

"Today, George Bush and (Vice President) Dick Cheney again rattled the sabres in their march toward military action against Iran," said Edwards, the former senator from North Carolina.