Remarks by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton on Iran with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband (Excerpts)

January 21, 2010

Weapon Program: 

  • Nuclear

Related Country: 

  • United Kingdom

. . .

FOREIGN SECRETARY MILBAND: We've always - we also talked about the pressing issue of the Iranian nuclear program, where our countries are working closely together as part of the E-3+3 to take forward our dual-track policy.

. . .

QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, just a short while ago when you were speaking to us, you said that the P-5+1 was unified in working toward additional pressure on Iran. It perplexed me slightly because, as you well know, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations publicly said not a couple of weeks ago that this was not the time to be talking about or contemplating additional sanctions. Yesterday, I spoke to a senior European diplomat who was - who refused even to say the word "sanctions" in front of a reporter for fear of antagonizing the Chinese.

Help us understand where the unity is, because it would appear, at least from the outside, that the Chinese are not quite with the program.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Arshad, we know that the Chinese, as well as other countries have raised issues about the efficacy of sanctions. But we are unified in the position that we have to influence the Iranian Government's behavior concerning its nuclear program. One of the reasons why we are meeting on an - just an ongoing basis, and talking in many different capitals with our counterparts, is because we believe there is a path forward to achieve a resolution at the United Nations Security Council.

Now, in addition to that path, other countries including our own, as you know, will be looking at steps that we can take. But our plan right now is to proceed to obtain the strongest possible language out of the United Nations. And what that is, I can't stand here and tell you today, but it is all aimed at trying to influence Iranian Government behavior. And how it's finally shaped is what the process of negotiations will determine.

QUESTION: Is the language (inaudible) actual sanctions, or is rhetoric alone acceptable?

SECRETARY CLINTON: We want the strongest possible resolution, so I'm not going to characterize it beyond that.

. . .

SECRETARY CLINTON: And one final point I would just add to what I said to Arshad: This is not happening in a vacuum, this whole effort that we're engaged in regarding influencing and restraining the Iranians' nuclear program. The prospects of the instability that would potentially ensue from Iran pursuing and achieving a nuclear breakout capacity or even a nuclear weapons program would be so intensely destabilizing, there is not a country in the world that is in the neighborhood, the region, relies on the oil markets, that would not be directly affected.

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