Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. (AP/Patrick Semansky)

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said her connection to Israel was deep and not only policy, and said Iran should be closely monitored. 

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton vowed to stand with Israel while saying she would ensure that Iran abides by its part of the nuclear deal and did not attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

“The alliance between the United States and Israel is more important than ever in this time of terrorism and turmoil,” Clinton told a gathering at the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines on Monday, according to USA Today. “…That has to be understood to be in our national interest — to have an Israel that remains a bastion of stability and a core ally in a region in chaos. An Israel strong enough to deter its enemies and strong enough to take steps in pursuit of peace.”

She also said her connection to Israel was personal and very deep, and not merely a question of policy, and cited her connections with Israeli leaders as proof.

Clinton declared support for the nuclear deal with Iran, which Israel views as a potential threat to its existence. She was a key player as Secretary of state in starting the negotiations process with Tehran that led to the formulation of the accord.

Clinton said the US now needs to take a “distrust and verify” stance toward enforcing the agreement with Iran.

She also reiterated her opposition to boycotts on Israel. She called the effort to compare Israel to apartheid South Africa as “offensive and unacceptable.”

USA Today reports the prospective voters were impressed by her commitment to Israel.

Clinton has recently been embroiled in controversy regrading her relations with Israel as a result of her published emails and those of her aids, which expressed animosity towards the Jewish State.