国际英语新闻：U.S. makes "deep, durable" commitment to Middle East peace

　　IRAN ISSUE

    The other key American foreign policy area that affects Israel is of course Iran.

    Clinton chose to take on a carrot and stick approach in her remarks. She made clear that the United States and the West were very disturbed by alleged discrepancies in last month's presidential election in Iran and far more so by the violence that ensued. However, she added the current Iranian regime is the reality and it needs to be addressed.

    "We know that refusing to deal with the Islamic Republic has not succeeded in altering the Iranian march toward a nuclear weapon, reducing Iranian support for terror, or improving Iran's treatment of its citizens," she said.

    There is currently a window of opportunity for Tehran to end its support for terror, its interfering in the affairs of state of its neighbors and if it talks seriously about its nuclear program, she said. "The opportunity will not remain open indefinitely."

    Asked about U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden's apparent green light for an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, Clinton merely said the president clarified the situation the following day.

    "Iran is an expert when it comes to the market place and I'm sure that means it is also expert in adopting delaying tactics. I just hope the Americans are alert to this," said Ephraim Asculai, a senior research fellow at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies.

    In his opinion talking is the only way forward, but as Clinton also put it, there is a limited timeframe for sitting around a negotiating table.

    Asculai believes the United States rather than the United Nations must determine the length of the window available for talks because the new framework for negotiations is being created in Washington.

    Clinton's speech is just the latest in a series of pronouncements and other signals from the Obama team that it would like to engage rather than enter conflicts with other nations or blocs. So far, the administration is still viewed positively in much of the Middle East, although the aftermath of the Iranian election has made for increased tension with Tehran.

    However, in general it is felt that Obama is a man with whom one can do business, but the belief in regional capitals is that the talking needs to happen sooner rather than later to ensure any form of resolution to two seemingly intractable crises.