Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Clinton: U.S. has no plan to strike Iran over nuclear program

(Haaretz).U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. is not planning a military strike on Iran over its nuclear program, in a television interview broadcast on Wednesday.

"Obviously, we don't want Iran to become a nuclear weapons power, but we are not planning anything other than going for sanctions," Clinton told Al-Arabiya television.

"What we are focusing on is trying to change Iranian behavior, and the international community has been united in trying to send a message to Iran that it is time for it to clarify its intentions," she said.

"We want to try to get the strongest sanctions we can out of the United Nations Security Council...mostly to influence their decision-making," Clinton added.

She said the Obama administration believes "the better approach is to join at the international community, to work together toward sanctions, to exert maximum pressure on the Iranians, and to try every way we can to change their thinking."