Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. wants a “civil, diplomatic relationship” with Iran and has told the regime that possessing a nuclear weapon isn’t in the nation’s best interests, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said.

President Barack Obama conveyed that message to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini Khamenei, Clinton said in an interview with PBS’s Charlie Rose to be broadcast today on Bloomberg Television.

Iran’s secrecy over its nuclear program has given the U.S. “many reasons to worry,” Clinton said. In the same interview, she said U.S. policy on Afghanistan must focus on destroying al- Qaeda, not on “nation-building.”

The U.S. suspects Iran is trying to make a nuclear bomb and is working with France, the U.K., Germany, Russia and China to persuade the regime to stop enriching uranium. The government in Tehran insists its nuclear program is intended for civilian purposes such as electricity generation.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated Iran’s peaceful intent at a press conference in Istanbul last night, and accused the U.S., possessor of the world’s largest nuclear arsenal and the only country ever to have used atomic weapons, of “double standards” in opposing Iran’s program.

“Three or four countries sit down together and they call themselves ‘the international community’,” he said. “The Americans have thousands of bombs, but it hasn’t helped them in Iraq or Afghanistan. They build nuclear bombs, and then they chant human rights slogans.”

Ties Cut in 1980

The U.S. cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 1980 in response to the seizure of the embassy in Tehran, where 52 American diplomats were held hostage for 444 days.

The Obama administration has made clear to Iran that it accepts its right to pursue civilian nuclear energy, and that “we are not going to be demonizing you,” Clinton said, according to a transcript issued before the show went to air on PBS late yesterday.

Clinton, who spoke with Rose in Berlin during commemorations for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, urged Iran to cooperate with United Nations inspections of its nuclear program, saying it isn’t in the regime’s interest to “be subjected to very onerous sanctions.”

“No one wants” to resort to military means to halt Iran’s nuclear program, Clinton said. “We’ve always said that every option is on the table. Our goal is to prevent or dissuade Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.”

‘Extra Mile’

Obama “has really gone the extra mile to try to engage with the Iranians,” sending “private messages to the supreme leader,” she added. “If they cannot overcome their mistrust and their internal political dynamic, then we have to do what we think is in our best interests.”

Ahmadinejad said he had applauded Obama’s election and would welcome signs of change in key U.S. policies under the new administration, adding that he’s been disappointed so far.

“I ask you, what have they changed?” he said. “Is the Guantanamo camp closed? Has U.S. support for Zionism changed? Is there any policy to relieve the Palestinians? Is there any change of policy in Afghanistan, in Iraq?”

Asked about the weeks the Obama administration is taking to evaluate its policy in Afghanistan, Clinton said Obama and his national security team are seeking to gather all relevant information rather than rushing to conclusions, to avoid a repeat of “mid-course corrections” taken by the Bush administration in Iraq.

“There was a lot of talk during the prior administration that came pretty close to nation-building, transforming Afghanistan,” she said. “Is that directly in our national security interests? Probably not. So we want to help, but we want to keep focused on what is clearly in our national security interests, to dismantle, disrupt and defeat al-Qaeda and its extremist allies.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Indira Lakshmanan in Washington at ilakshmanan@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 10, 2009 03:50 EST