Pirates have hijacked two European-owned chemical tankers off the coast of Somalia in the past 24 hours, the European Union Maritime Security Center said Thursday.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will represent the United States at the United Nations meeting Tuesday in The Hague, the State Department said earlier. It is not clear who Iran will send to the conference. Obama made an overture to Iran last week in a video address marking the Persian new year holiday of Nowruz. “My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community,” the president said in his message Friday. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded a day later that he sees no change in U.S. policy toward Iran despite the American promise of a “new beginning.” Khamenei said that a change in rhetoric is not enough and that Washington must practice what it preaches, according to the English-language Press TV channel in Iran. He also promised that Iran will change its policy if the United States does so as well, Press TV reported. The United States and Iran broke off diplomatic relations 30 years ago after the Islamic revolution.
