FACTBOX: Key foreign policy statements by Obama, Clinton

(Reuters) - Sen. Hillary Clinton will testify on Tuesday at a congressional hearing on her nomination by President-elect Barack Obama to be U.S. secretary of state.

Obama surprised many by choosing his former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination to be his top diplomat.

Below are some of their statements and key differences on foreign policy during the Democratic primary season. Analysts said these were magnified in the heat of the campaign and will be minimized at Tuesday's hearing.

IRAQ

Obama opposed the Iraq war before he was elected to the Senate and has said he would withdraw U.S. troops within 16 months of taking office on January 20. He says his early opposition to the war shows he is best placed to make a "clean break" from the Republican approach.

Clinton was more reluctant on the campaign trail to commit to a firm timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. She refused to apologize for her 2002 Senate vote authorizing the war but said she would like to have that vote back to do over.

IRAN

Obama has said that the United States will have to "engage in tough, direct diplomacy with Iran."

He has also raised the possibility of presidential talks with Iranian leaders, saying: "I reserve the right as president of the United States to meet with anybody at a time and place of my choosing if I think it's going to keep America safe."