Hillary Clinton offered a sweeping defense of her record as secretary of state Wednesday, highlighting her work to bring Iran into nuclear negotiations and touting her efforts to maintain a “rock solid” relationship with Israel.
Speaking at a meeting of the American Jewish Committee, Clinton described her post’s most difficult “hard choices” (also the title of her forthcoming book) while acknowledging that some – like ongoing negotiations with Iran and six other world powers to secure a lasting nuclear accord – still have uncertain outcomes under her successor John Kerry.
“I personally am skeptical that the Iranians will follow through and deliver,” she said of the “P5+1” talks kicking off Wednesday in Geneva. “I’ve seen many false hopes dashed over the years. But nonetheless, this is a promising development and we need to test it to see what can be achieved. This is the time to give diplomacy space to work.”
If that diplomatic effort fails, she added, “every option does remain on the table."
Clinton, who has not yet announced a run for the presidency in 2016, told the Jewish organization that she has participated in “endless” negotiations in the effort to achieve a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.
“It was always, for me, an important part not just of my responsibility but my privilege to be a friend of Israel,” she said.
NBC's Vaughn Hillyard contributed to this report.
