WASHINGTON – President Bush’s nominee for secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, will be pressed today to account for the president’s past policy toward Iraq and to outline a future strategy toward Iran.

Senators reviewing her nomination are expected to seek a glimpse into how the administration will confront what it suspects is an emerging nuclear threat from the theocratic regime.

So far, the administration has not signaled how it will proceed. Options range from joining negotiations with European countries to supporting the country’s democracy movement to bombing known nuclear sites.

Ms. Rice can also expect to be pressed to explain why the administration’s suspicions that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction have so far not been proven.

If confirmed, Ms. Rice, 50, will be the first African-American woman secretary of state. She served as the president’s national security adviser for four years, although that post came without the scrutiny of a Senate confirmation hearing.

A former academic and concert pianist, Ms. Rice can expect praise for her qualifications and credentials. Her personal friendship with the president is perceived as a valuable asset by some senators, and a source of concern by others who worry that the Cabinet lacks sufficient skeptical voices.

Senator Feinstein, a Democrat of California, has said she will introduce Ms. Rice, who served as provost of Stanford University.

“Dr. Rice has the skill, judgment, and poise to lead in these difficult times,” Ms. Feinstein said in a statement. “If confirmed, she will have a critical asset in conducting American diplomacy – the deep, personal trust and confidence of the president.”

But the junior senator from the Golden State, Senator Boxer, has said she will grill Ms. Rice on her role in advancing the administration’s claims that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction that have not been found.

Ms. Boxer has been gathering signatures on a petition that asks Ms. Rice “to tell the truth” about why America invaded Iraq.

“We must hold Condoleezza Rice accountable for her misleading statements leading up to the Iraq war and beyond before we can even consider promoting her to Secretary of State,” Ms. Boxer wrote in a letter to supporters.

“You rolled out the idea, and then you had to convince the people, and as you made your case, I personally believe that your loyalty to the mission you were given overwhelmed your respect for the truth,” Ms. Boxer said in prepared remarks she was to deliver at the hearing.

It is unclear how much support Ms. Boxer’s line of questioning will have from her colleagues. The senior Democrat on the committee, Senator Biden of Delaware, said prior to the Iraq invasion that if the administration had waited for the danger posed by Saddam to become “clear,” it may the have been “too late.”

The chairman of the committee, Senator Lugar, a Republican of Indiana, has predicted “strong support” for Ms. Rice’s confirmation.

Mr. Lugar’s spokesman, Andy Fisher, said Ms. Rice would “be asked about everything in U.S. foreign policy. That will include Iran.”

Ms. Rice’s hearing could extend to a second day, followed immediately by a committee vote. The full Senate could vote as early as Thursday afternoon, after Mr. Bush takes the oath of office for his second term.

Ms. Rice replaces Secretary of State Powell, who was praised by Mr. Bush yesterday in a speech marking Martin Luther King Day. He called Mr. Powell “a person of wisdom and decency.”