Clinton urges S Africa to persuade Iran on nuke program

CAPE TOWN - Visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday urged South Africa to use its "rare authority" to persuade Iran to give up its nuclear program.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talks with South Africa's Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi after attending a PEPFAR (US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) Transition Signing, at Delft South Clinic in Delft South, a suburb of Cape Town, August 8, 2012. [Photo/Agencies]

"As the first country to voluntarily give up nuclear weapons, South Africa speaks with rare authority," Clinton said in a speech at the University of Western Cape.

South Africa, which voluntarily abandoned its nuclear weapons program in 1989, can deliver a convincing message to Iran, Clinton said.

"You can most convincingly make the case that giving up nuclear weapons is a sign of strength, not weakness," she said.

Despite Western pressure, South Africa has maintained long- standing cooperation with Iran, from where Pretoria had imported about 30 percent of its crude oil.  But Pretoria cut all crude oil imports from Iran in June amid heavy European and US sanctions over Iran's nuclear program.

Clinton said South Africa should play a much more important role in everything from promoting economic development to solving global challenges such as the Syrian crisis and the impasse over Iran's nuclear program.

"Few countries on this continent can carry as much weight or be such effective partners and leaders as South Africa," Clinton said.

She admitted in Pretoria earlier that the United States and South Africa "do not always see eye to eye" on certain issues such as the Syrian crisis.

Last month, South Africa abstained from voting on the latest UN Security Council resolution sponsored by the United States, calling the document  "one-sided".

The resolution would only make the situation on the ground worse, pushing the Syrian government to further pressure the military option and emboldening the opposition to continue to reject talks, the South Afrcan government said.

Clinton's remarks in Cape Town were seen as a new attempt by the United States to bring South Africa on board in efforts to resolving the Iranian nuclear issue and Syrian crisis.

Cape Town is part of Clinton's four-day visit to South Africa. She will travel to Nigeria from Cape Town on Thursday to continue her 11-day African tour.