Hagel: US ‘clear-eyed’ on Iran’s support for terror
US defense secretary says that while Washington knows Tehran exports extremism, it seeks to resolve disputes peacefully
NEW YORK — The United States is testing Iran’s diplomatic intentions but remains “clear-eyed” on Iran’s role as a state-sponsor of terror and exporter of extremism, said US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.
“But foreign policy is not a zero-sum game,” he said. “If we can find ways to resolve disputes peacefully, we are wise to explore them.”
Hagel’s comments on Iranian nuclear negotiations came Thursday at the Anti-Defamation League’s centennial conference in New York.
Hagel went on to introduce his predecessor, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who received the ADL’s William & Naomi Gorowitz Service Award.
Panetta, also a former CIA director, called for negotiations to determine Iran’s seriousness, while maintaining “healthy skepticism.”
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