Kerry clears US Senate hearings
27 Jan 2013 5:09 AM IST
Senator John Kerry, President Barack Obama’s pick to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, sailed through his hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he chairs.
With Kerry, a Vietnam veteran and a senator since 1985, on the other side of the table, Thursday’s hearing was led instead by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey.
During the five-hour hearing, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee who lost the election to George W. Bush, said ‘we will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon’.
‘I repeat here today: our policy is not containment. It is prevention and the clock is ticking on our efforts to secure responsible compliance,’ he told the panel.
He said he hoped the US and its allies would maintain diplomatic pressure against Iran, but said Iran had to prove its nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.
There are sanctions and they are working, he said, noting Iran’s currency, the rial, has dropped, and other nations have been cooperating in reducing dependence on Iranian oil.
With Kerry, a Vietnam veteran and a senator since 1985, on the other side of the table, Thursday’s hearing was led instead by Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey.
During the five-hour hearing, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee who lost the election to George W. Bush, said ‘we will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon’.
‘I repeat here today: our policy is not containment. It is prevention and the clock is ticking on our efforts to secure responsible compliance,’ he told the panel.
He said he hoped the US and its allies would maintain diplomatic pressure against Iran, but said Iran had to prove its nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.
There are sanctions and they are working, he said, noting Iran’s currency, the rial, has dropped, and other nations have been cooperating in reducing dependence on Iranian oil.
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