Muscat , Oman ( CNN ) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is urging countries in the Persian Gulf region to support Iraq 's newly created government as she prepares to head to an international forum on development and the environment . `` There 's a government in Iraq that 's embraced by the Iraqi people . The attitude toward that government and Iraq among its Arab neighbors is changing . More and more people are seeking out relationships , seeking out trade agreements , opening embassies , '' Clinton said . In that regard , Gulf states have `` got more to do , but they 're making progress . ... I 'm encouraged , '' she said . Clinton spoke to CNN Wednesday in Muscat , Oman , a day before she was to meet with regional leaders in Qatar at the `` Forum for the Future . '' In late December , the Iraqi parliament voted in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki 's government , which is inclusive of Iraq 's major ethnic and sectarian groups . The long-awaited legislative action came more than nine months after a hotly disputed national election that threatened to inflame the country 's deep sectarian tensions . If other countries in the region do not acknowledge Iraq 's new `` inclusive government , '' Clinton said , `` that would be a great mistake . '' `` What we see is Iraq increasingly asserting itself . Iran is a big neighbor . Iran is a big presence in this entire region , and obviously , next door to Iraq as well , '' she said . `` But we also see the other sets of power in the region beginning to step up and make sure that Iraq is part of the larger community , and that 's very important . '' She also insisted that progress is being made regarding Iran , saying the United States has moved the world from merely condemning Iran to enacting sanctions that she says are working . Clinton conceded there 's still a long way to go toward convincing Iran to give up its nuclear ambitions . `` Can we run up the flag and say , oh no , we 've reached the conclusion we sought ? Not yet , but we are making progress , '' she said . Clinton 's six-day trip to the region also included a stop in the United Arab Emirates . Before her stop in Oman , she made a surprise visit Tuesday to poverty-stricken Yemen , a key al Qaeda battleground and planning center in recent years . During the wide-ranging interview Wednesday , Clinton defended U.S. expanded efforts to help Yemen . The country has thus far been unable to stop an al Qaeda affiliate from operating in its country , where it planned failed bombing attempts on the United States . `` Walking away from Yemen , not supporting it in both the counterterrorism efforts and its broader development needs , would be ceding the ground to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , '' she said . `` That would be a very tragic mistake . '' While in Yemen , she told reporters that the United States wants to take a two-pronged approach to helping that country . One is with military assistance to help fight al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula , and the other is to provide help for social and economic development as the nation runs out of oil and water . `` I hope that the American people understand that this is being done because , first and foremost , this is in our national security interest . Walking away from Yemen , not supporting it , in both the counterterrorism efforts and its broader development needs , would be basically ceding the ground to Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula . That would be a very tragic mistake , in my opinion , '' she said . In her Wednesday interview with CNN , Clinton also reiterated her earlier characterization of the weekend shooting rampage outside an Arizona supermarket as an example of `` extremism . '' `` Based on what I know , this is a criminal defendant who was , in some ways , motivated by his own political views ; who had a particular animus toward the congresswoman . And I think when you cross the line from expressing opinions ... into taking action that 's violent action , that is a hallmark of extremism -- whether it comes from the right , the left , from al Qaeda , from anarchists , whoever it is -- that is a form of extremism , '' she said . Also in Wednesday 's interview , Clinton described China as a `` big presence in our world today , '' adding the United States needs to have a `` positive relationship '' with that country because its importance will be even greater in the future . Chinese President Hu Jintao is set to visit Washington next week . Clinton also addressed Lebanon , where members of the powerful Hezbollah movement and its allies resigned from the Cabinet Wednesday , bringing down the government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri . Hezbollah opposes a U.N.-backed special tribunal that is widely expected to indict members of the Shiite Muslim group in the assassination of Rafik Hariri , the current prime minister 's father . `` We view what happened today as a transparent effort by those forces inside Lebanon as well as interests outside Lebanon to subvert justice and undermine Lebanon 's stability and progress , '' Clinton said . `` Trying to bring the government down as a way to undermine the special tribunal is the abdication of responsibility , but it also will not work . '' CNN 's Laurie Ure contributed to this report .
Clinton says more governments should seek relationships with Iraq . She plans to push that point at a meeting Thursday in Qatar , she says . Clinton 's trip also includes stops in Oman , the United Arab Emirates and Yemen . The secretary of state says that the Arizona attack is an example of `` extremism ''