Secretary of State John Kerry Interview With Martha Raddatz from Doha Transcript

March 5, 2013 -- Secretary of State John Kerry Interview with Martha Raddatz from Doha Transcript

RADDATZ: Secretary Kerry, let's start with Iran. You have said they do not have an infinite amount of time for negotiations. The Israelis have said they're moving closer to the red line. Do you agree with the Israelis?

KERRY: Well, I'm not getting into red lines and timing publicly except to reiterate what the president has said again and again. Which is he prefers to have a diplomatic solution. He would like to see the P1+5 process and negotiation process be able to work and avoid any consideration of any kind of military action.

But the president has been absolutely clear that his policy and the policy of the international community, it's not just his, the international community has spoken and that's why the sanctions are in place and it's up to Iran now hopefully to come to the table constructively and work with us to avoid what nobody really wants.

RADDATZ: It seems we've been hopeful year after year after year and yet Iran gets closer and closer to a nuclear weapon.

KERRY: You're absolutely correct. That's why lines have been drawn before and they've been passed. That's why the president has been so definitive this time. This is a very challenging moment with great risks and stakes for everybody because the region will be far less stable and far more threatened if Iran were to have a nuclear weapon.

It will spur a nuclear arms race. It has risks for greater terrorism. It will be destabilizing. There are many reasons why this is risky. And that's why the president has said so clearly his policy is that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

Now, if they keep pushing the limits and not coming with a serious set of proposals or prepared to actually resolve this, obviously the risks get higher and confrontation becomes more possible

RADDATZ: Do you think we have this year and no longer?

KERRY: I'm not, again Martha, I'm not going to discuss time frames.

RADDATZ: And yet the time frame, as you said red lines keep passing(CROSSTALK)

KERRY: Well, they have in the past, but not with this president. They have in the past, but right now you have the most significant cooperation in history between Israeli intelligence, American intelligence, other intelligence entities, the international community which is working diligently on a day to day basis to track. And that's one of the reasons why Iran's reluctance to allow the IAEA to get its questions answered and to do its job becomes even more provocative. Now, we just had a meeting in Almaty in Kazakhstan of the P5+1. They scheduled another meeting. There is the time here for the Iranians to make a serious proposal and I will repeat what the president has said and what I have said a number of times, we are prepared through P5+1 and negotiating process to engage in a serious proposal that they would make to prove their program is in fact a peaceful program. We look forward to doing so in the spirit of mutual respect, and a spirit of good faith in order to get this resolved peacefully.