Clinton Urges Israeli Patience on Iran
by Gil Ronen
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"If the Israelis believe they are under an existential threat they won't listen to us," she said.
Clinton attempted to reassure viewers that the U.S. was serious when it said it would prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Clinton said: "What we want to do is to send a message to whoever is making these decisions [in Iran], that if you're pursuing nuclear weapons for the purpose of intimidating, of projecting your power, we're not going to let that happen," Clinton said.
"First, we're going to do everything we can to prevent you from ever getting a nuclear weapon. But your pursuit is futile, because we will never let Iran — nuclear-armed, not nuclear-armed — it is something that we view with great concern, and that's why we're doing everything we can to prevent that from ever happening. ... We believe, as a matter of policy, it is unacceptable for Iran to have nuclear weapons."
Betraying Iranians?
Clinton said the Obama administration might still engage with Iran’s regime, and answered in the negative when moderator David Gregory asked if the U.S. would be betraying Iran’s democratic movement by doing so.
“I don’t think so, David,” she said. “We have negotiated with many governments who we did not believe represented the will of their people. Look at all the negotiations that went on with the Soviet Union… That’s what you do in diplomacy. You don’t get to choose the people. That’s up to the internal dynamic within a society. But, clearly, we would hope better for the Iranian people. We would hope that there is more openness, that peaceful demonstrations are respected, that press freedom is respected.”
Gregory asked her if she believed Iran is governed by an illegitimate regime.
“You know, that’s really for the people of Iran to decide,” Clinton said. “I have been moved by the … cries for freedom. … People that go back millennia, that have such a great culture and history, deserve better than what they’re getting.”
