Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Photo: Chad J. McNeeley at DoD.

Israel’s vocal criticism of the international community’s dealing with the Iranian nuclear issue is actually beneficial to the United States, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said recently, according to Israeli daily Ma’ariv.

This surprising announcement was made during a private meeting in Washington over the weekend, the paper reported. Clinton’s statement contravenes the official U.S. policy to date, which has been to repeatedly and bluntly reject Israel’s vociferous objections to the substance of talks held in Geneva between Iran and world powers – convened in order to find a peaceful way to convince the Islamic Republic to curb its nuclear activity.

According to Clinton, as cited by Ma’ariv, Israel is perceived as a close ally of the United States and therefore Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated warnings of possible military action against Iran are taken seriously. Clinton also noted that Israeli criticism helps the U.S. in its dealings with Russia and China – two countries with relatively warm relations with Iran.

The former U.S. Secretary of State also concluded, citing recent history, that the successful development of a crippling sanctions regime against Iran in the United Nations Security Council was facilitated by the lingering possibility of an Israeli attack against the Islamic Republic.