Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues a Middle East tour with a stop in Israel. Visiting after a weekend of talks in Egypt, Clinton held talks Monday with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. At a news conference in Jerusalem, Clinton said Iran’s latest proposals on its nuclear program are “non-starters” and stressed the United States and Israel share the same stance on confronting the Iranian government.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “As to the diplomatic track, I made very, very clear that the proposals we have seen from Iran thus far within the P5+1 negotiations are non-starters. Despite three rounds of talks, it appears that Iran has yet to make a strategic decision to address the international community’s concerns and fulfill their obligations under the IAEA and the U.N. Security Council. It’s absolutely fair to say we are on the same page at this moment, trying to figure our way forward to have the maximum impact on affecting the decisions that Iran makes.”
Clinton was also asked about coming under protest in Egypt, where demonstrators pelted her motorcade with tomatoes. It was the second consecutive time Clinton had faced protests in Egypt, having been the Obama administration’s most public backer of the Mubarak regime after the Egyptian revolution began. Clinton shrugged off the show of opposition.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “I was not offended. You know, I was relieved that nobody was hurt, and I felt bad that good tomatoes were wasted. But other than that, it was not particularly bothersome.”