Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs committee that the Obama administration is seeking a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff with Iran. But if that doesn't work, she suggested the groundwork is being laid for "crippling sanctions" against Iran. The World's Matthew Bell reports.
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KATY CLARK: I'm Katy Clark and this is The World. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went to Capitol Hill today to give a progress report on US diplomacy. Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the Obama administration is making strides on a wide range of foreign policy challenges. Republican lawmakers grilled her on the decision to release classified memos from the Bush era on harsh interrogation techniques. We'll hear more on that issue in a few minutes. But first, The World's Matthew Bell reports on how Secretary Clinton described the administration's approach to Iran and its nuclear ambitions.
MATTHEW BELL: Democratic committee chairman, Howard Berman, told Hillary Clinton today that he supports the Obama administration's effort to engage Iran through diplomacy.
HOWARD BERMAN: At the same time I can't get away from the fact that Iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons capability keep going ahead and that this engagement can't be so open ended that we essentially pass the threshold that we're seeking to avoid by virtue of the engagement.
BELL: Berman asked Clinton about what comes next, if Iran refuses to abandon nuclear activities that the West believes are part of a weapons program? He wanted reassurance that the Obama administration would then be able to rally the international community to impose what he called "truly crippling sanctions" against Iran. Clinton said Berman's question accurately describes the administration's efforts.
HILLARY CLINTON: Yes, we are more than willing to reach out to the Iranians to discuss a range of issues assuming they're willing to reach back. As the president said in his inaugural address—we'll hold out our hand, they have to unclench their fist. But we are also laying the groundwork for the kind of very tough, I think you said, crippling sanctions that might be necessary in the event that our offers are either rejected or the process is inconclusive or unsuccessful.
BELL: In answering another question from a Democrat on the committee, Clinton criticized the previous administration for standing on the sidelines of negotiations with Iran. She said the Obama administration's decision to actively pursue engagement on the issue will increase its leverage with other nations when it comes to sanctions.
CLINTON: We believe that we can make a very strong case for exactly the kind of sanctions regime that you and the chairman have referred to. We actually believe that by following the diplomatic path we are on we gain credibility and influence with a number of nations who would have to participate in order to make the sanctions regime as tight and crippling as we would want it to be.
BELL: In the last three months, Clinton said she's had discussions about Iran with officials from many countries. The so-called P5-plus-one; that's the US, Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany, have invited Iran to take part in a new round of talks. No date for the talks has been set. George Lopez of the University of Notre Dame is an expert on economic sanctions and diplomacy. Lopez says Clinton's comments today about crippling sanctions have to be taken in context.
GEORGE LOPEZ: Her original statement that said we're delighted to be a part, again, of the P5 dynamic, I think, really represents where the administration wants to go. They believe they can achieve a lot of reduction of the threat and the rhetoric at the table and at the same time be very, very clear that we have the capacity to inflict some serious economic pain if we must.
BELL: Lopez says the threat of imposing sanctions can be more effective than the actual sanctions themselves, because sanctions are a blunt instrument that can inflict widespread hardship on the population of a country like Iran while causing little impact on its leadership. Iran's official news agency today said the country welcomes constructive dialogue with the international community on nuclear issues. But it added that Iran will not put a stop to its controversial uranium enrichment activities. For The World, I'm Matthew Bell.
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