WASHINGTON Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul says "offering friendship" to Iran, not sanctions, would be a more fruitful way to deal with Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions. The libertarian-leaning Texas congressman is a leading Republican contender, though considered a longshot by most analysts. On Sunday he said Iran's nuclear weapons program has been "blown out of proportion." He said tough sanctions are a mistake, because in the case of Iraq, they only hurt the local population and still paved a path to war. When asked on "Fox News Sunday" what he would do to deter Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions, Paul said "maybe offering friendship to them." Paul's remarks are consistent with his conservative doctrine of noninterventionist foreign policy. However, they put him at odds with both the Bush and Obama administrations; U.S. policy has relied heavily on sanctions and diplomacy to try to convince Tehran to abandon its atomic program. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear watchdog of the U.N., is set in the next few days to release a report detailing the strongest evidence yet that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Paul, who has twice before campaigned for the U.S. presidency, is known for beliefs that often put him at odds with both Republicans and Democrats. He is considered one of the founding fathers of the Tea Party movement, and is a vocal critic of U.S. policy in areas of both foreign affairs and the economy. On Israel, Paul said in May that "Israel is our close friend," and Unlike this president, I do not believe it is our place to dictate how Israel runs her affairs." However, he has called for cutting all U.S. foreign aid, including that to Israel, saying at the Oct. 18 GOP debate, I would cut all foreign aid. I would treat everybody equally ... That foreign aid makes Israel dependent on us." He has said that in 2012, he does not want to run as an independent, telling "Fox News" that it "doesn't make sense to me to even think about it, let alone plan to do that."
Iran needs 'friendship,' says Republican presidential hopeful
Ron Paul, who is hoping to run against Barack Obama in the 2012 election, wants to cut foreign aid to Israel • Tells Fox News that sanctions are a mistake • Comments put him at odds with both Obama and Bush administrations.
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