Clinton: Iran Trying to Exploit Middle East Unrest

Friday, in a press conference in Berlin, Clinton said there are signs Iran is trying to exploit the unrest in the Middle East, KGO reports.

“We do see activities by Iran to try to take advantage of these uprisings.  They are trying to exploit unrest.  They are trying to advance their agenda in neighboring countries.  They continue to try to undermine peace and stability to provoke further conflict,” she said.

Earlier this week, Clinton urged Arab countries to consolidate gains from recent unrest and to push towards democracy, or else they might turn into Iran, whose 1979 revolution was 'hijacked' by religious extremists.

“We want people in the region to understand that the Iranian Government’s motive here is to destabilize countries, not to assist them in their democratic transitions,” Clinton added, “in an era of instant communication, we hope that people will not be fooled by their tactics.”

Clinton also had strong words for Syria.

“We call upon the Syrian authorities once again to refrain from any further violence against their own people.  The arbitrary arrests, the detentions, the reports of torture of prisoners must end now.  The free flow of information must be permitted once again.  We have to allow journalists and human rights monitors the opportunity to enter Syria, to be free to report, to independently verify what’s happening on the ground, because, as you know, it’s very difficult to get accurate information as to what is going on,” she said.