Clinton seeks to reassure Iran deal skeptics

Hillary Rodham Clinton will argue that the US must be “clear-eyed” about the nuclear deal with Iran in a speech on Wednesday, stressing that US President Barack Obama’s landmark agreement must be enforced with “vigor and vigilance” and is not a step toward normalizing relations with America’s longtime enemy.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton waves at the audience as she leaves the stage after taping The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015, at Rockefeller Center in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

Speaking at a Washington think tank, Clinton plans to hail the agreement as part of a larger Middle East strategy before offering a five-point plan for countering Iran’s influence in the region.

“This isn’t the start of some broader diplomatic opening,” Clinton will say, according to excerpts of her remarks provided by her campaign. “And we shouldn’t expect that this deal will lead to a broader change in their behavior. That shouldn’t be a premise for proceeding.”

— AP