Clinton: Iran moving toward military dictatorship

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said yesterday Iran is sliding into a military dictatorship, a new assessment suggesting a rockier road ahead for U.S.-led efforts to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

As the first high-level Obama administration official to make such an accusation, Clinton was reflecting an ever-dimming outlook for persuading Iran to negotiate limits on its nuclear program, which it has insisted is intended only for peaceful purposes. The United States and others, including the two Gulf countries she visited Sunday and yesterday, believe Iran is headed for a nuclear bomb capability.

Clinton also was revealing the logic of the administration's plan to target the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps with a new round of international sanctions intended to compel Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions before it increases the likelihood of a military clash.

She flew to Riyadh, where Saudi Arabia's foreign minister expressed doubts about the usefulness of imposing more sanctions. In a joint appearance with Clinton, Prince Saud al-Faisal said the threat posed by Iran's nuclear ambitions demands a more immediate solution. He said sanctions are a long-term solution, but the threat is more pressing. He didn't identify a preferred short-term resolution.

Clinton was driven in King Abdullah's private bus 65 miles northeast to Rawdat Khurayim, a royal hunting retreat where the vacationing king hosted her for lunch. Afterward they met privately in his elaborately appointed tent. Clinton was flying later to Jeddah on the Red Sea coast.