Dubai: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said her country has no plan for military action against Iran over its nuclear programme, in a television interview broadcast on Wednesday.
"Obviously, we don`t want Iran to become a nuclear weapons power, but we are not planning anything other than going for sanctions," she told Al-Arabiya television.
"What we are focusing on is trying to change Iranian behaviour, and the international community has been united in trying to send a message to Iran that it is time for it to clarify its intentions," she said.
"We want to try to get the strongest sanctions we can out of the United Nations Security Council ... mostly to influence their decision-making," said Hillary, interviewed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia yesterday at the end of a Gulf tour.
On Israel`s refusal to rule out the military option against its arch-foe Iran, which denies charges of aiming to build a nuclear bomb, she said "there are many countries in the region who are very worried about Iran`s actions.”
"And there may well be those who think, well, we have to do something to protect ourselves," said Hillary.
But Washington believes "the better approach is to join at the international community, to work together toward sanctions, to exert maximum pressure on the Iranians, and to try every way we can to change their thinking."
Meanwhile, Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in the Jordanian capital yesterday that Washington has not ruled out military action.
"The priority for President Obama and his administration has been to initiate a dialogue and engagement while at the same time keeping all options on the table," he said.
PTI
