Hillary Clinton gets tough on Iran

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, June 27, 2009   In an interview with private TV network Globovision that was broadcast Tuesday in Venezuela, Secretary Clinton got tough on Iran, calling for “even stricter” sanctions and saying its “pursuit of nuclear weapons” would “be very destabilizing in the Middle East and beyond.” Some sound bites: We would ask the world ...

583880_090708_Ahmadinejad2.jpg
583880_090708_Ahmadinejad2.jpg

 

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, June 27, 2009

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, June 27, 2009
 

In an interview with private TV network Globovision that was broadcast Tuesday in Venezuela, Secretary Clinton got tough on Iran, calling for “even stricter” sanctions and saying its “pursuit of nuclear weapons” would “be very destabilizing in the Middle East and beyond.”

Some sound bites:

We would ask the world to join us in imposing even stricter sanctions on Iran to try to change the behavior of the regime.

We have seen in the last weeks that Iran has not respected its own democracy.

It has taken actions against his own citizens for peacefully protesting. [“His” referring to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.]

I think it is not a very smart position to ally with a regime that is being rejected by so many of their own people.

Last month, most of you voted that Clinton should be speaking out more about the Iranian election and its aftermath. It looks like Clinton is doing just that.

As for why Clinton did an interview with a Venezuelan TV network? She’s trying to ease the tense relationship between the United States and Venezuela. She reached out (literally) to President Hugo Chávez in April, and the United States recently returned its ambassador to Venezuela. Clinton told Globovision, “We are trying to lower the temperature. … We want to make it clear that there are ways for us to have a conversation with people we don’t agree with on many issues.”

Photo: ARASH KHAMOOSHI/AFP/Getty Images

Preeti Aroon was copy chief at Foreign Policy from 2009 to 2016 and was an FP assistant editor from 2007 to 2009. Twitter: @pjaroonFP

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