John Kerry

If America is going to successfully overcome this extraordinarily difficult and pressing foreign policy challenge--I don't think anybody missed the Supreme Ayatollah's comments yesterday about Israel or about the Obama…

I believe we can and indeed should work through both bilateral and multilateral channels in parallel.

I really do believe some willingness to accept the so-called--or, quote/unquote 'right to enrich' is essential, both for winning the argument in Iran, that what we're offering to them is worth their taking.

I believe there is a negligible chance we can ever get them to accept that, or that we could ever set in motion a debate in that country where, no matter what was offered to them, it would be a desirable deal.

I completely believe that we must be organizing the international community's clear understanding of what this line is or isn't.

I don't think we should pretend that we have the ability to affect the Iranian elections. We don't.

I think, in the short term, it's imperative that we make it very clear to the Iranians and to President Ahmadinejad that a belligerent noncompromising approach is not going to reap rewards.

Let the regime have to justify that against the backdrop of inflation that is above 30 percent.

It is important to let the Iranian people see the reasonableness and the attractiveness of what could be theirs.

I would like to make two final points. The first relates to the timing of all of this.

I believe a negotiation really will need to focus on whether Iran is allowed to have some enrichment activity.

I do not agree with this contention. In fact, I believe we and the Iranians approach each other with a mutual sense of vulnerability.

Our differences with Iran are largely political and can be addressed and resolved by political leaders.

I believe we and Iran are fated to engage one another and that engagement will begin in the next year or so.

There was no way to stop Iran from seeking missile technology unless we could address Iranian national security concerns.

The effect on United States standing in the Muslim world would be massive, wiping out the goodwill our new administration has generated.

I believe that military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities would be the height of folly.

The Iranian nuclear pretensions are inherently destabilizing.

I warn, however, in addressing it, not to look at it in isolation.

Our job is to deal with Iran as a nation.

It's a long ways from here to where we need to end up with Iran. The outcome, at the end of the day, is full restoration of diplomatic relations, but there are many steps along that way.

If you don't have the Ayatollah, the Supreme Leader, engaged with the President of the United States, an agreement on what constitutes the terrain of engagement, you won't be able to engage on any single issue, including the nuclear issue.

I personally welcome, as I'm certain all of us do, the appointment of a new special representative to take a hard look at Iran and our foreign policy, Dennis Ross, a man with great experience in the region, an expert in the field of…

We need to set a timetable for substantive progress.

Our friends and allies need to understand this.