Hillary Clinton says India, China key to end US-Iran war

Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said India and China hold the key to resolving the West Asia conflict, urging President Donald Trump to use diplomacy instead of military pressure. Speaking to C-SPAN and at the Hamptons Institute, Clinton said China and India are the largest buyers of Iranian oil and gas, giving them leverage to pressure Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

"If you want to figure out how Trump could get out of this, I think the key to it is probably China and India," Clinton said. She said she would threaten China with secondary sanctions if Beijing did not help restore the status quo ante. ThePrint reported Clinton also said US intelligence had targeted Iranian leaders but failed to collapse the regime, and that Washington had misjudged Iran's resilience. The Hindu added that Pakistan, Oman and Qatar are also trying to mediate.

The comments came as the US announced new sanctions on Iranian individuals, companies and vessels under what the Trump administration calls 'economic D-Day'. China has said it will take all necessary measures to defend its interests against what it called illegal unilateral sanctions.