Reporter Hammers State Dept Spox With Questions On Iran: Will You Reopen Talks On The Nuclear Front?

4 months ago

During a press briefing on Wednesday, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller answered reporter questions on the new Iranian president.

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Transcript

00:00Yeah. I have one on Iran. CBS has reporting that yesterday there was a rare principles committee

00:07meeting at the White House with cabinet secretaries and President Biden, and that there

00:15seems to be concern about possible actions that Iran or proxies could take while there's a little

00:20bit of transitional – well, not a transitional phase, but like whilst there's a lot going on

00:25domestically in the U.S. And then you've also got an Iranian president who has said that he's more

00:32open to talking to the West, and guys are always saying that diplomacy is what you see as the best

00:39option moving forward. Has there been any outreach or anything towards the new leadership in Iran

00:47to consider reopening any kind of talks on the nuclear front or anything?

00:51So it is true that we have always seen diplomacy as the best way to achieve a sustainable,

00:59long-lasting solution to Iran's nuclear program, but we have made clear that one way or another

01:04we are never going to allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. When it comes to diplomacy,

01:16when it comes to talks, I think we're a long way from anything that – like that right now,

01:19given the nuclear escalations that Iran has made over the past several months,

01:24given its failure to cooperate with the IAEA. And also when you look at the new Iranian president,

01:33ultimately it's clear that the authority for these matters lies with the supreme leader.

01:37And because of that, we don't judge any change in their behavior likely at this time.

01:45But it's always laid with the supreme leader, even when U.S. and Iran were talking. So

01:51is now not a good opportunity to maybe – or is it just that Iran is just not a priority right now?

01:57So no, it very much is a priority. But given the actions that we have seen Iran take,

02:03the first thing that ought to happen is for Iran to stop its escalation and start

02:06cooperating with the IAEA. I also wanted to just say something broad and general about the first

02:12part of your question without confirming any kind of meeting that took place, which I would

02:15never do. I would certainly hope that any adversaries around the world who think that

02:21the United States has in any way taken its eye off the ball because of the announcement by the

02:27president, they should know that they are sorely wrong in that judgment, if that is indeed what

02:32they are thinking. The president remains focused on our national security priorities. The Secretary

02:38of State and the entire national security team remain focused on them. It's one of the things

02:42the president said to the Secretary when he talked to him on Sunday after his announcement,

02:47which is I want you all focused on the objectives that we have laid out,

02:50and I want you to focus on achieving them over the next six months.

02:55Yeah.

02:56Q Thank you, Matt. I have three questions today. One question on the Iraqi and U.S.

03:00security dialogue, which concluded yesterday. I know the Pentagon is the mainstream of that

03:04discussions, but the State Department delegates were there and they attended the meetings.

03:08One question that the Iraqi people want to have an answer from the U.S.

Reporter Hammers State Dept Spox With Questions On Iran: Will You Reopen Talks On The Nuclear Front?

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