(AP).US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday the Obama administration's nearly yearlong effort to engage Iran has fallen short and new sanctions are needed to press the Iranian leadership to come clean about its suspect nuclear program.
Clinton's pessimistic remarks come as an end-of-year deadline, set by President Barack Obama, looms for the Iranians to prove that their nuclear intentions are peaceful.
She said the administration has offered Iran a chance to participate in meaningful discussions about its nuclear activities and intentions or face fresh penalties for defiance in line with the dual-track, carrot-and-stick approach.
That dual effort, though, has "produced very little," she said, adding that "additional pressure is going to be called for" to get results.
"I don't think anyone can doubt that our outreach has produced very little in terms of any kind of a positive response from the Iranians," Clinton told reporters at a joint State Department news conference with visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos.
"The second track of our dual-track strategy is to bring the international community together, to stand in a united front against the Iranians and try to impress upon them the importance of changing their actions and decisions concerning their nuclear program," Clinton said. "Certainly, additional pressure is going to be called for in order to do that."
Clinton's pessimistic remarks come as an end-of-year deadline, set by President Barack Obama, looms for the Iranians to prove that their nuclear intentions are peaceful.
She said the administration has offered Iran a chance to participate in meaningful discussions about its nuclear activities and intentions or face fresh penalties for defiance in line with the dual-track, carrot-and-stick approach.
That dual effort, though, has "produced very little," she said, adding that "additional pressure is going to be called for" to get results.
"I don't think anyone can doubt that our outreach has produced very little in terms of any kind of a positive response from the Iranians," Clinton told reporters at a joint State Department news conference with visiting Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos.
"The second track of our dual-track strategy is to bring the international community together, to stand in a united front against the Iranians and try to impress upon them the importance of changing their actions and decisions concerning their nuclear program," Clinton said. "Certainly, additional pressure is going to be called for in order to do that."