Clinton: Obama's foreign policy gives Iran "clear opportunity" to engage

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US President Barack Obama's intent to change the direction of US foreign policy gives Iran a "clear opportunity" to engage more productively on nuclear and other issues, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday. In her first remarks to reporters at the State Department, Clinton said Obama's first days in office have made it clear that a more open Iranian approach to the international community could benefit Iran. She said this was reflected in statements Obama made in an interview Monday with an Arab TV network. "There is a clear opportunity for the Iranians, as the president expressed in his interview, to demonstrate some willingness to engage meaningfully with the international community," she said. "Whether or not that hand becomes less clenched is really up to them." She said the administration is undertaking a wide-ranging and comprehensive survey of US policy options toward Iran. "There is just a lot that we are considering that I'm not prepared to discuss," she added.