US to use ‘all elements of power’ to prevent Tehran
JERUSALEM
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L), Israeli PM Netanyahu (C) and Israeli Defense Minister Barak talk in Jerusalem. AFP photo
The United States will use “all elements of American power” to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said late July 16 at a press conference in Jerusalem.“We will use all elements of American power to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon,” she said in reference to Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
Her remarks, which carried an implied threat of military action, a course of action that has never been ruled out by Washington, came just days after the U.S. imposed a wave of fresh sanctions on Iran targeting companies tied to Tehran’s procurement, petroleum, and shipping networks. Clinton also accused the Islamic Republic of presenting unworkable proposals in its talks with the P5+1 world powers. “I made very clear that the proposals we have seen thus far from Iran within the P5+1 negotiations are non-starters,” Agence France-Presse quoted her as saying of the latest round of talks, which took place in Istanbul earlier this month.
‘Mend ties with Turkey’
“Despite three rounds of talks it appears that Iran has yet to make the strategic decision to address the international community’s concerns and fulfill its obligations.” Following a day of top-level talks with the Israeli leadership over a range of regional issues, Clinton said the Obama administration was “in close consultation with Israel” over ways to increase the pressure on Tehran. Clinton also reportedly urged Netanyahu to mend ties with Turkey and encouraged Israel to apologize over the Mavi Marmara fatalities, noting that Turkey was a regional asset and that the ongoing dispute with Israel was undermining international unity in the effort to thwart Iran’s nuclear drive, according to the Times of Israel website.
Turkey downgraded diplomatic relations and cut all military ties with Israel as a result of the Mavi Marmara raid that killed eight Turks and one Turkish-American in 2010, which was leading a flotilla attempting to break the Israeli embargo of the Gaza Strip.
