THE UNITED States could extend a “defence umbrella” over the Arab Gulf states if Iran develops a nuclear weapon, says secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
Mrs Clinton told a town hall meeting in Bangkok that Iran should know that acquiring a nuclear capability would not enhance the Islamic republic’s security.
“We want Iran to calculate what I think is a fair assessment that if the US extends a defence umbrella over the region, if we do even more to support the military capacity of those in the Gulf, it’s unlikely that Iran will be any stronger or safer, because they won’t be able to intimidate and dominate, as they apparently believe they can, once they have a nuclear weapon,” she said.
Mrs Clinton insisted that she was not articulating a new US policy towards Iran but her remarks suggested that the Obama administration is considering a system of deterrence in the event that Iran succeeds in developing a nuclear weapon.
Tehran insists that its nuclear programme is designed solely for the civilian purpose of generating nuclear power, which is allowed under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.
Western powers are sceptical, however, and the International Atomic Energy Agency said last month that Iran had increased its enriched uranium production and was thwarting attempts by international monitors to investigate whether it was developing weapons.
Mrs Clinton said that Washington still supported multilateral negotiations with Iran on the nuclear issue involving the five permanent members of the United Nations security council – the US, Russia, China, France and Britain – and Germany.
The secretary of state warned, however, that the talks could not be open-ended, declaring that “we’re not going to keep the window open indefinitely”.
Israel’s intelligence minister, Dan Meridor, criticised Mrs Clinton’s discussion of a defence umbrella over the Gulf as evidence of Washington’s willingness to accept a nuclear-armed Iran.
“I heard, unenthusiastically, the Americans’ statement that they will defend their allies in the event that Iran arms itself with an atomic bomb, as if they have already reconciled with this possibility, and this is a mistake,” Mr Meridor told Israel’s Army Radio.
“Now, we don’t need to deal with the assumption that Iran will attain nuclear weapons but to prevent this.”
Speaking in the Thai resort of Phuket, where she is attending a joint meeting of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the 27-member Asean Regional Forum , Mrs Clinton said her remarks did not imply that there had been any change in US policy towards Iran.
“I am simply pointing out that Iran needs to understand that its pursuit of nuclear weapons will not advance its security. It faces the prospect if it pursues nuclear weapons of sparking an arms race in the region,” she said.
“We also have made it clear that we will take action as I’ve said time and time again, crippling action,” said Mrs Clinton.
