Iran biggest Mideast challenge for Obama - W.House [View All]

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Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - President-elect Barack Obama should seek tougher sanctions against Iran, which will be his biggest Middle East challenge, outgoing White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley said on Wednesday.

In a speech to be delivered at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Hadley also said the outgoing Bush administration had laid the groundwork for progress toward Palestinian-Israeli peace, despite the fighting in Gaza.

"For the next administration, the biggest challenge in this region is Iran," Hadley said in prepared remarks looking back on eight years of President George W. Bush's foreign policy.

"Negotiations with Iran, as some have proposed, without leverage on Iran will not produce a change in Iranian behavior or advance U.S. interests," he said.

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