WASHINGTON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday reiterated American calls for Iran to give up its nuclear ambition for the sake of its own security.

    Addressing a Senate subcommittee overseeing State Department funding, Clinton said that "our goal is to persuade the Iranian regime that they will actually be less secure if they proceed with their nuclear-weapons program."

.S. Secretay of State Hillary Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on international affairs budget on Capitol Hill in Washington, capital of the United States, May 20, 2009

"A nuclear-armed Iran with a deliverable weapons system is going to spark an arms race in the Middle East and the greater region. That is not going to be in the interests of Iranian security," she noted.

    Iran resumed its uranium enrichment in early 2006, and has since refused to suspend the nuclear activity despite three sanctions resolutions adopted by the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

    The United States accuses Iran of developing secretly nuclear weapons under the cover of civil nuclear program. Iran denies the charges.