Istanbul – Clinton To Iran: Show That Nuclear Arms Not Sought

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    U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, second left, and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu shake hands before a bilateral meeting at a hotel Saturday, March 31, 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey. Clinton is in Turkey to attend the second meeting of the "Friends of the Syrian People." (AP Photo/Brendan Smialowski, Pool)Istanbul – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday urged Iran to back up its declaration that Islam bars weapons of mass destruction by agreeing to a plan that would prove it does not intend to develop nuclear arms.

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    Ahead of international talks April 13 in Istanbul on Iran’s uranium enrichment program, Clinton talked strategy with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Tehran last week with other government officials.

    “They were told that the supreme leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) viewed weapons of mass destruction as religiously prohibited, as against Islam,” Clinton said at a news conference.

    “We are meeting with the Iranians to discuss how to translate what is a stated belief into a plan of action,” she said. “It is not an abstract belief, but a government policy. That government policy can be demonstrated in a number of ways. … The international community now wants to see actions associated with that statement of belief.”

    She mentioned opening Iran’s nuclear facilities to international inspectors and shipping out some of Iran’s enriched uranium in exchange for fuel for its research reactor.

    Washington and its allies see Iran’s nuclear program as designed to develop an atomic bomb. Tehran says the program is for peaceful energy and research purposes.

    The upcoming talks, which Clinton said would not be “an open-ended session,” have taken on fresh urgency amid speculation that Israel or the U.S. could take military action later this year. Clinton has made clear that time is running out for diplomacy.

    Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters, issued a religious decree in 2005 declaring nuclear weapons as “haram” or forbidden. The U.S. and its allies discount Iran’s claims.

    Clinton noted that the Turkish leaders had “lengthy discussions” with Iranian officials. But the U.S. and Turkey, a NATO ally, haven’t seen eye to eye on the Iranian threat.

    Erdogan has built close economic ties with Iran and has tried to act as a go-between on the nuclear program, breaking ranks with world powers in 2010 by attempting to find a separate settlement with Tehran. The international talks have included the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.

    Erdogan’s comments upon returning from Tehran suggested further distancing from U.S. and European positions, repeating Khamenei’s verdict on weapons of mass destruction.

    “After such a statement from such a person, I cannot claim that Iran is building a nuclear weapon,” the Turkish leader said. “Does it not have the right to implement a nuclear program for peaceful means?”


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    4 Comments
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    toolee
    toolee
    11 years ago

    Clinton just doesn’t seem to get it, the Arabs are thumbing there nose at the world. They all will lie until its too late.

    ALLAN
    ALLAN
    11 years ago

    Mrs Clinton and President Obama have probably what is the worlds greatest ventriloquist act going. He stays in Washington DC while she talks for him, saying nothing of any substance while stalling till after the election. Maybe after the election they can play Las Vegas together.

    EitzaTova
    EitzaTova
    11 years ago

    Neither Obama nor Clinton nor any other US Gov’t official believes Iran has a peaceful nucleur energy program. They are just doing as good a job as they can of trying to fool themselves into believing this is true.

    concerned_Jew
    concerned_Jew
    11 years ago

    She is a gigantic big joke. Good bye in November I hope.