[State Department] Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday in an interview: Q: Since we're such a close ally of Israel, do you worry that if Israel were to act against Iran, that we [the U.S.] would be blamed? Rice: We don't say yes or no to Israeli military operations. Israel is a sovereign country. But we are in very close contact with the Israelis and we talk about the diplomatic track that we're on. I think they believe that diplomacy - they've said that diplomacy can work here. And I know they're doing their part to talk to all of the countries with which they have good relations to explain why it's important to have a tough edge to our diplomacy. Q: Twenty percent of the world's oil goes through water controlled by Iran. Is oil Iran's secret weapon? Rice: I don't know what the Iranians would do without the revenue that they receive from selling oil. And so the idea that they would somehow deprive the world of Iranian oil exports would have to have a pretty devastating effect on Iran itself.
2008-08-08 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive