Clinton warns of 'destabilizing' Iran options

WASHINGTON: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tuesday that a nuclear-armed Iran or a conflict over its ambitions would both destabilize the region as she pressed Tehran to make progress in key talks.

As Israel voices growing impatience over Iran, Clinton credited US sanctions with inflicting pressure on the Islamic republic but warned of the "very difficult situation that the world faces" moving forward.

"There is no clear path. We know that a nuclear-armed Iran would be incredibly destabilizing to the region and beyond. A conflict arising out of their program would also be very destabilizing," Clinton said.

"There is no way to balance this. You have two very difficult paths here," Clinton told a dinner in Norfolk, Virginia, on a day trip to visit the only NATO command in the United States.

Clinton, who traveled over the weekend to Turkey and Saudi Arabia, voiced concern that a nuclear Iran would trigger an arms race in the region.

"We're going to be looking for a way to try to convey the legitimate fears that people in the region have about what comes next. Because if Iran were ever to get a nuclear weapon, the countries in the region are going to buy their way to one as well," Clinton said.

The United States has been threatening sanctions to press other countries to stop buying Iranian oil, the country's chief money-maker, as Israel voices fears that the Islamic republic is developing a nuclear bomb.

Iranian officials insist that sensitive nuclear work is for peaceful purposes.

Iran is expected to resume talks shortly with six powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- in the first such negotiations in more than one year.

Clinton, speaking earlier Tuesday at the Virginia Military Institute, said that the talks offered a chance to resolve the nuclear row diplomatically but said that they should not be "open-ended."

"We expect to see concrete commitments from Iran that it will come clean on its nuclear program and live up to its international obligations," Clinton said. (AFP)