The United States slapped sanctions on 21 Iranian government firms Tuesday, boosting pressure over the Islamic republic's nuclear program and alleged support for radical groups including the Taliban.

Accusing Tehran of trying to dodge sanctions by setting up opaque trading companies, the Treasury Department also named a host of banking, mining and other companies -- spread throughout Europe and Japan -- as government-backed.

"As its isolation from the international financial and commercial systems increases, the government of Iran will continue efforts to evade sanctions," said Treasury undersecretary Stuart Levey.

Those moves, he said, included "using government-owned entities around the world that are not easily identifiable as Iranian to facilitate transactions in support of their illicit activities."

The Treasury also announced sanctions against individuals and groups to target "the government of Iran's support for terrorism and terrorist organizations," including Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Taliban.

Senior members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard were among those named, including Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Hossein Musavi -- a commander who, the Treasury said, had "provided financial and material support to the Taliban."

It also accused the Revolutionary Guards of running aid operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon as cover for intelligence operations as well as funding militant groups.

The 21 firms included two Belarus-based banks, two Germany-based investment firms, and mining and engineering companies in Japan, Germany, Luxembourg, Italy and Iran.

US citizens and businesses will now be barred from doing business with the proscribed companies.

It is the latest of a series of US moves put pressure on Iran, which Western governments say is trying to build a nuclear weapon.

earlier related report
US rebuffs Iran call for summit
Washington (AFP) Aug 3, 2010 - The Obama administration on Tuesday rebuffed a call for a US-Iranian summit, but saw signs that growing international sanctions may force Iran into holding big-power talks about its nuclear aims.

The US Treasury Department at the same time imposed sanctions on 21 firms it believes are front companies for the Iranian government, the latest in a flurry of punitive steps taken by the international community since June.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs rebuffed a proposal from Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for face-to-face summit talks with his US counterpart Barack Obama about what he called "global" issues.

"We have always said that we'd be willing to sit down and discuss Iran's illicit nuclear program, if Iran is serious about doing that," Gibbs told reporters. "To date, that seriousness has not been there."

On Monday, Ahmadinejad criticized Obama for missing "historic opportunities" to repair the broken relations with Iran, which has had no diplomatic ties with Washington for three decades, and offered to meet him.

"We are hopefully coming for the UN assembly," Ahmadinejad said in an address to expatriate Iranians which was broadcast live on state television.

"We are ready to sit down with Mr. Obama face-to-face and put the global issues on the table, man-to-man, freely, and in front of the media and see whose solutions are better. We think this is a better approach."

Ahmadinejad, who sees the Arab-Israeli conflict and other regional problems as among important global issues requiring Iranian diplomacy, is expected to travel to New York for the UN General Assembly meeting next month.

US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Iran may now be seeking a dialogue with Washington because it is feeling the bite of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, the United States, European Union and others.

"The cost of doing business for Iran is going up," Crowley told reporters.

"We're encouraged by what we're seeing... We sense that there may well be a willingness on the part of Iran to enter into the kind of dialogue that we have long sought," he added.

Apart from calling for a summit, Iran said Friday it was ready for immediate talks with the United States, Russia and France over a confidence-building exchange of nuclear fuel for a medical research reactor in Tehran.

Iran balked at the exchange involving France and Russia before it proposed in May a similar trade with Turkey, under a plan brokered by Brazil and Turkey that raised doubts in Washington.

Crowley added: "We're willing to meet Iran any time, any place within the P5-plus-1 to begin to address a series of issues, most significant to us, the nuclear issue."

He was referring to the permanent five UN Security Council members -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- plus Germany, which have been leading the diplomatic efforts to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Washington and other western nations suspect Iran's uranium enrichment program masks a drive for atomic weapons. Iran denies the charge, saying it is pursuing the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Citing Iran's failure to comply with international demands to halt uranium enrichment, the United States has led the drive for sanctions, including a fourth round of UN Security Council penalties imposed in June.

Since then, the European Union, Australia and Canada have followed Washington's example of moving tightly to enforce the UN sanctions as well as impose additional punitive measures of their own.

Japan on Tuesday imposed sanctions against Iran in line with the June UN resolution and said it plans to announce additional measures later this month.

John Kerry, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Obama will push individual leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly to either enforce fully the UN sanctions or have their own governments impose unilateral sanctions.

earlier related report
Iran's Ahmadinejad urges US to join nuclear fuel swap talks
Tehran (AFP) Aug 4, 2010 - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged the United States on Wednesday to join talks on a nuclear fuel swap deal, reiterating that Tehran was ready to start talks near the end of the month.

Ahmadinejad also repeated an offer to hold talks with US President Barack Obama on "global problems" at the UN General Assembly in September, although Washington has rebuffed his proposal.

"He (Obama) missed the opportunity last year for a fuel swap; today this opportunity is on the table again," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech in the city of Hamedan in western Iran.

"We are ready for talks based on respect, justice and Iran's proposals after mid-Ramadan (late August) and we advise him (Obama) not to miss this opportunity," Ahmadinejad said.

Iran said on Sunday it was seeing a "positive" feedback from the Vienna group -- United States, Russia and France -- over the proposal brokered by Brazil and Turkey to supply Tehran with nuclear fuel.

The May 17 proposal by Iran, Turkey and Brazil, known as the Tehran Declaration, stipulates that Iran send 1,200 kilogrammes (2,645 pounds) of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for 20 percent high-enriched uranium to be supplied by Russia and France at a later date.

The world powers led by Washington had previously cold-shouldered the plan, and backed a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran on June 9.

The UN sanctions have been followed by unilateral punitive measures imposed by the United States and the European Union.

The world powers suspect that Iran is masking a weapons drive under the guise of a civilian atomic programme, while Tehran insists its nuclear programme has no military aims.

On Tuesday Washington rebuffed a call by Ahmadinejad for face-to-face summit talks with Obama.

Overlooking the US reaction, Ahmadinejad repeated Wednesday, "We are ready to talk to Mr Obama before the nations and present our solutions for global problems and define the roots of the crimes and problems in the world." hif/afq