Washington: Arguing that Iran and North
Korea are not heeding to the global community on the issue of
nuclear weapons, the US on Sunday said "all bets are off" for the
two countries.
"They (Iran and North Korea) are not in compliance
with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. So for them, all
bets are off. All the options are on the table," Defence
Secretary Robert Gates told CBS news in a joint appearance
with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Clinton said the US still reserve the right to use
nuclear weapons first if it think that America's security is
in danger and requires that.
"Now, that's not our preference, and we make it very
clear that we want to maintain a strong deterrent. We see that
primarily for the purpose of deterring bad actors against us,
and responding if necessary. But we did not go so far as to
say, no first use," she said.
Responding to a question, Clinton said missile
defence remains not only alive and well, but the US is going
to be deploying it in Europe to protect its European allies
and partners from a potential attack by Iran.
"We are going to continue to try to work with the
Russians to convince them that this is in their interest as
well as ours," she said.
"Well, first of all, the negative security assurance
that we won't use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states
in conformity with or in compliance with the Non-Proliferation
Treaty is not a new thing.
"The new part of this is saying that we would not use
nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state that attacked us
with chemical and biological weapons," Gates said.
Clinton said it has been a very positive week for
American foreign policy, and particularly with respect to our
nuclear posture.
"When it comes to Iran, we take everything they say
with more than a grain of salt, because we know that they have
a tendency to say things that may or may not be carried out,
may or may not be accurate. But, in fact, their belligerence
is helping to make our case every single day," she told ABC
news.
"Countries that might have had doubts about Iranian
intentions, who might have even questioned whether Iran was
seeking nuclear weapons, are having those doubts dispelled as
much by the evidence we present as by what comes out of the
leadership of Iran," she said.
PTI
First Published: Monday, April 12, 2010, 00:17