Q I'm concerned about the nuclear threat coming out of Iran.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q I was just wondering if you could comment on that.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I appreciate that. He's concerned about Iran, as am I. That's why early in my administration I talked about Iran in vivid terms. First of all, you've got to understand that every situation requires a different response when it comes to foreign policy. And so we tailor our responses based upon the reality of the moment. And, first, just to make it clear to the world that Iran must abandon her nuclear ambitions. That's part of the role of the United States, and to work with others to send that same message.

The IAEA is the agency principally responsible for the Iranian nuclear program, we're working closely with them. We're making sure that we ask the hard questions to the IAEA, so they ask the hard questions to the Iranians. We got the Iranians to sign what's called -- not "we," the world got the Iranians to decide -- to sign what's called an additional protocol, which will allow for site inspections that normally would not have been allowed under IAEA. In other words, the groundwork, the ability to inspect, as best as possible, is in place.

Secondly, the tactics of our -- as you know, we don't have relationships with Iran. I mean, that's -- ever since the late '70s, we have no contacts with them, and we've totally sanctioned them. In other words, there's no sanctions -- you can't -- we're out of sanctions. And so we've relied upon others to send the message for us. And the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Great Britain have gone in as a group to send a message on behalf of the free world that Iran must comply with the demands of the free world. And that's where we sit right now. And my attitude is, we've got to continue to keep pressure on the government, and help others keep pressure on the government, so there's kind of a universal condemnation of illegal weapons activities.

As well, the United States does have an opportunity to speak clearly to those who love freedom inside of Iran, and we are. There is a significant Diaspora here in the United States of Iranian Americans who long for their homeland to be liberated and free. We're working with them to send messages to their loved ones and their relatives, through different methodology. And one method -- and very overt, I might add, we've got radio broadcasts, a new radio broadcast system going into Iran, say, listen, we hear your voice, we know you want to be free, and we stand with you in your desire to be free.

I will tell you a free Iraq is going to send a clear message to people in Iran, as well, that free societies are possible. That's why I say this is an historic moment in our history, and it really is. When you think about it, a free country in the midst of the Middle East will send a very clear signal that freedom is possible. In other words, there are reformers and people who want to be free watching carefully as to whether or not this country, which is the beacon of freedom, is strong enough not to wilt when the pressure gets significant.

I tell this story a lot; I'll share it with you, about my friend, Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan. And we were having Kobe beef one day and -- it's quite good, I might add, and -- (laughter.) This was in Tokyo. And you know what? We were talking about another subject that I'm sure is a concern of yours, as well, and that's North Korea. And it was an amazing conversation, when you think about it, wasn't it, that I was talking to my friend, 55 years or so after World War II had ended, about how to keep the peace in a troubled part of the world. We made the decision -- I made the decision that, on North Korea, that the kind of bilateral negotiations weren't working. If you might recall, my predecessor thought he had an arrangement with the North Koreans that they did not honor. And it's a lesson that it's important to remember.

So I made the decision to bring other nations in to help send the same message to North Korea. It's a more effective way of doing things if there's more than one voice willing to say the same thing. That's why China is very much involved in the process now, which is helpful. And Japan is, too. And so Prime Minister Koizumi and I were talking about how to make sure the six-party talks sent the same message to Kim Jong-il, which is, get rid of your nuclear weapons program and there will be -- in a verifiable way that gives us all confidence that he has done so, and then perhaps there's a way to help them economically.

And during the course of the conversation, I became very thankful because my predecessors believed that Japan could self-govern. If you read some of the editorials and some of the writings right after World War II, there was a lot of doubt as to whether or not a country like Japan could self-govern, could be a democracy. But there was people here who had great faith in the transformation power -- the transformative power of liberty, and stood their ground. And there I was talking to a duly-elected official of Japan about peace.

Some day, an American President is going to be talking to elected officials, an elected official from Iraq, talking about how to keep the peace. Free societies are peaceful societies. And free societies join this fantastic alliance of those of us who long for peace deep in our heart; an alliance of countries willing to work on the tough issues, like Iran and North Korea, all aimed at bringing these difficult solutions to a peaceful conclusion.

And, anyway, it's a long answer to an important question, but, nevertheless, it's one -- (applause) -- let me finish, one other thing. It says that good foreign policy works with other countries, and we will. Remember now, one of the dangers of this world is the proliferation of weapons and technologies. And there's over 60 nations involved with the Proliferation Security Initiative, an initiative that we helped put together during my administration. Some 40 nations are involved in Afghanistan. Nearly 30 nations are involved in Iraq. We've got good, strong alliances of people working together. I'm never going to turn over our national security needs to leaders of other countries, however. (Applause.)