US ‘Open to Engagement’ with Iran

US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton said the United States remains “open to engagement”
with Iran amid tensions over its nuclear aims, according to an interview
transcript released Sunday, AFP reports.

“We remain open to engagement. But they do know
what they have to do. They have to reassure the international community by
words and actions as to what their nuclear program is intended for,” she
said in an interview with The New York Times.

“And so whether it would take six months, a year,
or five years, it’s that deep concern about Iran acquiring nuclear weapons that
is the preoccupation of our friends and partners,” she said.

But Washington, she added, would pursue the sanctions path
“regardless of any issue of timing, because we think it’s got the best potential
for changing Iranian behavior.”