UK and US put Iran at heart of the agenda

Iran dominated Hillary Clinton's first meeting as Secretary of State with another foreign minister, as she and David Miliband discussed ways of curbing its nuclear ambitions.

The two leaders met shortly after Iran launched a satellite, using technology that the Pentagon indicated could one day be used to develop a nuclear, warhead-carrying, ballistic missile. Asked whether the launch of the satellite posed a threat, Mr Miliband declared that "anything which adds to international tension should be of concern."

The focus of Mrs Clinton and Mr Miliband's remarks to the media was on urging the Iranian leadership to take up last week's appeal by President Barack Obama that Tehran "unclench its fist" and rejoin the international community.

Mr Miliband described the Obama administration's willingness to talk to Iran a "new dimension" in efforts to end Tehran's nuclear ambitions and said that yesterday's talks were "very positive indeed".

While running for the White House, Mr Obama made a play of dismissing the sword-waving strategy of George Bush towards Iran and he held out the prospect of direct talks with the Iranian leadership. This remains a far-off prospect, however, and yesterday's focus was less on sitting down for face-to-face talks than on renewing efforts to persuade Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions through a combination of international sanctions and cajoling.

Mrs Clinton's campaign trail approach to Iran was a lot more bellicose than Mr Obama's and she threatened that as president she would "annihilate" Iran if it ever launched a nuclear attack on Israel. Yesterday, the day after she was formally sworn in as America's top diplomat, Mrs Clinton only had honeyed words of encouragement for Iran's leadership.

She and her British counterpart also discussed the looming prospect of the US turning protectionist and the danger that "Buy American" rules in the stimulus package could trigger a retaliatory and dangerous trade war.

The humanitarian situation in Gaza was also part of their discussions and Mr Miliband also held talks with the US Middle East envoy George Mitchell at a time when the Obama administration is pressing to get Middle East peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel restarted.

Speaking to the press after more than an hour of "substantive" talks, Mrs Clinton was also keen to lay out how closely she intended to work with the UK and how important the "special relationship" between the two countries is to her.

"It's often said that the United States and Britain have long enjoyed a special relationship," Mrs Clinton said. "It's very special in my mind and has proven very productive whoever is in the White House, whichever party, this relationship really stands the test of time. I think it is fair to say that we share fundamental values and important fundamental objectives," she added, mentioning combating terrorism and curtailing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Mr Miliband also went out of his way to stress the strength of the "special relationship" yesterday. With Mrs Clinton nodding agreement, the Foreign Secretary praised the Obama administration's commitment to "share the burdens and responsibilities" of global leadership, whether dealing with Afghanistan, the Middle East, Iran or climate change.