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Clinton to build case for Iran sanctions on Gulf tour

13 February 2010 23:37 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton departed Saturday for Qatar and Saudi Arabia to build the US case for tougher sanctions over Iran’s nuclear plans in meetings with key Arab and Muslim leaders, APA reports citing AFP.

Clinton will also pursue the Obama administration’s bid to promote Arab-Israeli peace and "turn the page" on ties with Muslim countries -- the latter in a speech to the US-Islamic World Forum in the Qatari capital Doha.

She is departing a day later than planned after her husband Bill Clinton, the former president, had a heart operation on Thursday, but the delay will not cause her to miss any of her meetings, State Department officials said.

US President Barack Obama earlier Saturday addressed the US-Islamic World Forum in a video message, saying he wanted to deepen partnerships with the Muslim world and announcing he was appointing White House deputy counsel Rashad Hussain as special envoy to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

US officials said Clinton would also likely raise concerns with the Saudis and others about Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen.