WASHINGTON (Online) - In a wide-ranging interview with CNN, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said the relationship between the US and Pakistan was much improved. Using a scale of one to ten, Gates said he rated the ties with Pakistan at a 'six or a seven. The Pakistanis are very sensitive to the size of the American footprint, the number of Americans on the ground in a training capacity or whatever, Gates said in an interview to John King, USA. Theyre also extremely sensitive about their sovereignty. And we have to respect those things, he added. So I think those are the things that were working our way through, but frankly, as Ive just indicated, I think the relationship has been improving significantly, and I expect that to continue, the US defence secretary remarked. On the Obama administrations little acknowledged but widely reported use of remotely piloted drone attacks in Pakistani territory, Gates gave few details. I would just say we are doing what we need to do, he told King. On Iran, Gates said the international community should not be fooled by the relative calm that had followed Tehrans efforts to crack down on protests after last years disputed presidential election results. I think the regime has been able to repress the opposition and through the use of brute force, but they havent solved any of the problems and those peoples resentment and anger has not gone away, Gates told King. In his opinion, the international community needs to move swiftly to pass a United Nations resolution backing sanctions on Iran.