JUST IN: State Department Holds Press Briefing After US Warning Of Imminent Iranian Strike On Israel

3 months ago

State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller held a press briefing.

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Transcript

00:00Said, sit down.

00:01Sorry about that.

00:02It's okay.

00:03Good afternoon, everyone.

00:04Good to be back after a little bit of time on the road.

00:09Start with some opening comments before I turn to questions.

00:12Earlier today, Secretary Blinken spoke to Qatari Prime Minister al-Thani and Egyptian

00:16Foreign Minister Abdel-Lahdi about tensions in the Middle East, the latest in a series

00:21of diplomatic engagements he has held over the past few days with counterparts in the

00:25region and around the world, including calls yesterday with G7 foreign ministers and Iraqi

00:30Prime Minister Soudani.

00:32The Secretary has delivered a consistent message in all of these engagements.

00:36We are at a critical moment for the region, and it is important that all parties take

00:40steps over the coming days to refrain from escalation and calm tensions.

00:46Escalation is in no one's interest.

00:48It's not in the interest of any one country.

00:51It's not in the interest of the region.

00:53And it's certainly not in the interest of the millions of civilians who just want to

00:56live their lives free from violence and conflict.

00:59The Secretary is also making clear through these engagements that the United States continues

01:04to see a ceasefire in Gaza as the crucial step to helping calm broader tensions, in

01:09addition to, of course, securing the release of hostages and addressing the ongoing suffering

01:13of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

01:16And he is reiterating that all parties need to look for reasons to say yes to an agreement,

01:21not look for reasons to delay or say no.

01:24As the Secretary has emphasized, this is an important moment for the region, and it is

01:28critical that parties make the right decisions over the coming days.

01:32Turning to Bangladesh, we have seen the announcement that Prime Minister Hassina resigned from

01:37her position and departed Bangladesh.

01:40We are monitoring the situation carefully.

01:42The United States stands with the people of Bangladesh.

01:45We urge all parties to refrain from further violence.

01:49Too many lives have been lost over the course of the past several weeks, and we urge calm

01:53and restraint in the days ahead.

01:56We welcome the announcement of an interim government and urge any transition be conducted

02:00in accordance with Bangladesh's laws.

02:02Finally, we are deeply saddened about the reports of human rights abuses, casualties,

02:07and injuries over the weekend and past weeks.

02:10We share our deepest condolences with those who lost loved ones and those who are suffering.

02:15With that.

02:16Yeah.

02:17Thanks, Matt.

02:18And welcome back.

02:20Same to you.

02:24On the Middle East.

02:25Yeah.

02:26Your comments in the opening suggest that you are quite concerned about the risk or

02:36the potential for a much wider war.

02:41What exactly is the State Department doing in terms of preparation for that possibility?

02:47So we are concerned about the risk of the conflict escalating, the conflict spreading.

02:53It's something, as you know, we've been concerned about since October 7th, and there have been

02:56various times over the course of this conflict that the risk has been especially acute.

03:02Now, of course, is one of those times.

03:04And so what we are doing, the Secretary and others in the State Department are communicating

03:12with all the relevant parties in the region to make clear, as I said in my opening remarks,

03:15that escalation is in no one's interest, and asking that people use their diplomatic relationships

03:23to make that clear to others in the region.

03:26Okay.

03:27For this – my specific question, and I'm sure there's tons to say about your outreach

03:32to other countries, I'm talking about internally within the U.S.

03:36Government what is being done to prepare for the possibility that there is a wider war

03:43and that there will be American citizens in need.

03:46So there are a few different things.

03:48So let me take a broad answer to that before getting to the specific last one.

03:52Obviously, you've seen the Defense Department make certain announcements with regard to

03:55force posture.

03:56Deterrence is an important part of encouraging de-escalation, and so we will continue to

04:02take steps along that regard.

04:03Of course, we prepare for the possibility of further conflict.

04:07That being said, I want to just make it clear in answering the question that we don't

04:11think conflict is inevitable or should be inevitable, or that increased conflict is

04:15inevitable.

04:16We're going to continue to work to try to prevent it from happening, but of course we

04:19prepare for all possibilities.

04:21That has been the case since October 7th.

04:25Obviously, you saw that over the weekend we sent out a message to American citizens in

04:29Lebanon making clear that Lebanon is a do-not-travel country, it's a level four country.

04:37We issued a security alert encouraging U.S. citizens who wish to depart Lebanon to book

04:42any ticket available for them, even if that flight does not depart immediately or does

04:47not follow their first-choice route.

04:50And we'll continue to monitor the situation and make assessments and take actions based

04:56on response to real-time events.

04:59All right.

05:00So last one.

05:01You keep saying – or you're saying that a wider war is not inevitable and you don't

05:06think it should be inevitable, but do you think that an Iranian response or an Iranian

05:14attack on Israel is inevitable, whether or not that leads to a broader war?

05:19So I can't speak to what may or may not happen.

05:23That is a decision for Iran to make.

05:25We have been sending consistent messages through our diplomatic engagements encouraging

05:30people to communicate to the Government of Iran that escalation is not in their interest

05:35and that we will defend Israel from attacks, and that escalation does not serve Iran's

05:40interests.

05:41It doesn't serve the interests of anyone in the region.

05:43So I don't want to say it's inevitable.

05:45Certainly the risk is there, and that's why we are pursuing these diplomatic engagements.

05:49And from your perspective, is any kind of Iranian response an escalation?

05:54I don't want to prejudge from here what our view of a response might be, other than

05:59to say we don't want to see Iran take further action, and that's the message we are consistently

06:06delivering to our partners in the region.

06:09Yeah.

06:10Hi.

06:11Thank you, Matt.

06:12Welcome back.

06:13Given some of the tough rhetoric that we've seen reported between the U.S. and Israel

06:15specifically about whether the U.S. would bail out Israel should it escalate another

06:19time after this one, are there any limitations being placed on U.S. involvement in what's

06:24expected to develop in the coming days?

06:26So I don't know what you mean by limitations.

06:28We have made clear that we will defend Israel against attacks from Iran, against attacks

06:33from terrorist groups.

06:34That is part of our longstanding ironclad security to – or our ironclad commitment

06:39to Israel's security.

06:41At the same time, as I made clear in my opening comments, as the Secretary made clear in comments

06:47he made on the road last week, we don't want to see any party take steps to escalate

06:52this conflict.

06:53By limitations, I mean there's a difference between intercepting and defensive actions

06:57versus engaging in counterstrikes or even preemptive strikes, which have been floated

07:02by the Israelis as a possibility.

07:04Is there anything that the U.S. is drawing lines in front of in terms of those actions?

07:07So I'm not going to get into the conversations that we have with any of our allies or partners

07:11in the region, other than to say that as a general rule, we don't want to see escalation.

07:16And that is a statement that applies to all parties to this conflict.

07:20Given the Secretary's call as the President's personal outreach to King Abdullah in Jordan,

07:26can you say whether the Jordanians are as willing as they were in April to engage again

07:32in the coming day's development?

07:33I'm not going to speak to that in detail.

07:35Obviously, in April we were able to put together a coalition of countries that were willing

07:40to defend Israel against attacks from Iran.

07:44We do believe it's important to continue to defend Israel against attacks, whether

07:47they come from Iran or whether they come from Iran's proxies.

07:50We of course have conversations with our allies and partners about that, but I'm not going

07:54to detail those publicly.

07:57Again, I do want to say that we don't think these attacks should be inevitable.

08:02We don't think that they should happen.

08:03We don't think that they're in Iran's interests.

08:06But of course, it is prudent for us to take steps to deter and eventually, if necessary,

08:11defend against those attacks should they occur.

08:13Without specifying countries individually, are you confident that you have at least the

08:19same level of coalition that you had assembled in April?

08:22I just don't want to speak to it publicly.

08:24We are committed to the defense of Israel against attacks from Iran and its proxies,

08:29and I think I'll leave it at that.

08:30Okay.

08:31Two more questions.

08:32One, are there any preparations being made to evacuate U.S. citizens from Lebanon at

08:36this stage?

08:37So we always plan for all contingencies, and that's not just a statement I would make today.

08:41That's something that we have – has been clear since October 7th.

08:44We have planned for all of the possible contingencies, including the broadening of this conflict,

08:48including the escalation of this conflict.

08:51Our posture as it relates to American citizens in Lebanon today is that we recommend that

08:55U.S. citizens who can depart Lebanon find a way to do so.

09:01Okay.

09:02But nothing specific on the potential of an evacuation?

09:04I don't have anything to announce here, but as I said, we always prepare for all contingencies.

09:08Okay.

09:09And on prospects for a ceasefire deal, which this department and others – other agencies

09:13in the U.S.

09:14Government have been stressing is a crucial, key step – I mean, it appears notable that

09:17the talks over the weekend in Cairo were hours long, the CIA director was not there.

09:22Not to say that in the absence of U.S. – an altogether absence of the U.S. presence, but

09:26isn't that an indication that there's nowhere to go on ceasefire talks right now?

09:31I mean, how would you characterize them?

09:32Are they not stalled?

09:34So I wouldn't characterize them as stalled.

09:35I would characterize them the way we have said before, which is we have reached an agreement

09:39on the framework.

09:40That agreement still stands.

09:41Nothing that's happened over the course of the past week has done anything to erode

09:44the fundamental agreement on the framework to this ceasefire.

09:49That stands, but where we – also what's true is that we continue to have other areas

09:53where we need to bridge the differences between the two parties.

09:56And so, look, ultimately, it's not a decision the United States can make.

10:01It requires the parties to take these choices, and it requires the parties to get to yes

10:07and not look for reasons to delay and not look for reasons to say no.

10:10And so the message that we have consistently communicated to everyone in the region is

10:15we want to see a ceasefire, we think a ceasefire is in the interest of Israel, it's in the

10:19interest of the Israeli people, it's in the interest of the Palestinian people, it

10:22is in the interest of the broader region.

10:24So we are going to continue to use all of the diplomatic muscle, all of the influence

10:29that we can bring to bear to push to get this ceasefire over the line.

10:32And since this is the first time we're hearing from you specifically, I mean, would you say

10:35that the assassination of Henea, who was, of course, a lead negotiator in these talks,

10:40was at least not conducive to seeing them get over the finish line?

10:45The President spoke to this over the weekend, and I think I'll let his word stand.

10:49We said it certainly didn't help.

10:50Okay.

10:51I have another one for Russia at that later.

10:53Okay.

10:54Thanks.

10:55Jordan has, of course, been heavily engaged with the Iranians as well.

10:58President Biden had a call today with his counterpart in Jordan.

11:02Can you say if any messages to Iran have been disseminated through the Jordanians or

11:06any other channel urging de-escalation?

11:08So I will let all the countries in the region speak to what diplomatic engagements they

11:13might have had with Iran.

11:15But obviously, one of the points of the engagements that we have had is to urge countries to pass

11:21messages to Iran and urge countries to make clear to Iran that it is very much not in

11:26their interest to escalate this conflict, that it is very much not in their interest

11:31to launch another attack on Israel.

11:34And so I'll let countries speak to the degree to which they've had those conversations.

11:38But I can tell you in the engagements that we have had, every engagement that the Secretary

11:43has had, not just over the weekend, not just today, but going through to last weekend,

11:48he has heard a consensus position from all of our allies and partners both in the region

11:53and around the world that they don't want to see the conflict escalated.

11:56So certainly, I would expect that some of them would pass that message along and impress

11:59that point upon the Government of Iran, but I'll let each individual country speak to

12:04their particular conversations.

12:06So there's a consensus position against escalation, but is there a consensus on whether Iran does

12:12have the right to launch any kind of retaliatory act?

12:15So the consensus position is that Iran should not take further action.

12:21That's what we hear over and over, is that further action just raises the tensions, raises

12:29the risk of the conflict spreading and getting out of hand.

12:32Look, the last time we found ourselves in this position when Iran launched attacks against

12:39Israel in mid-April, you saw a series of attacks, and then ultimately the conflict didn't widen

12:45further.

12:46It's not to say that those attacks were in any way acceptable.

12:48Of course they weren't.

12:49That's why we'd help defend Israel against them.

12:51But that was a moment of real peril for the region, and we were able to chart a path that

12:55ultimately got us through that time without it tipping into a wider war.

13:03But every time you have one of these cycles of escalation, you have a risk of parties

13:07miscalculating, you have the risk of them taking actions that get out of hand or that

13:13have unintended consequences, and that can affect the ceasefire negotiations, it can

13:19affect the risk of broader conflict, and so the message that we are consistently sending

13:23is don't take this step.

13:24You don't need to.

13:25It doesn't serve anything, and it only puts the entire region at risk.

13:29Alex, go ahead.

13:31There does seem to be consensus that something is coming and that something is coming soon.

13:37I was wondering if you could speak to reports that the Secretary told his counterparts at

13:40the G7 that this could happen today or tomorrow, and why you think that the timeframe essentially

13:46has shrunk compared to last time when Iran took a bit more time to prepare for their

13:50response.

13:51So I'm not going to speak to those reports.

13:52And again, as I've said, we don't think this attack should happen, and we are working to

13:58try to prevent it from happening.

14:01So I'm not going to give you any kind of window – any kind of delineation of when we might

14:05be in a window or a potential window of attacks that we're trying to prevent in the first

14:09place.

14:10So that's the focus that we have, is trying to impress upon everyone in the region that

14:16escalation is in no one's interest and they shouldn't take further escalatory steps.

14:20Have you seen any indication that Iran is preparing or Hezbollah is getting ready?

14:25I mean, obviously, Hezbollah might be the more dangerous party because they're closer

14:28and their stuff might be pre-positioned.

14:30So I'm not going to speak to any type of intelligence assessments or other things that

14:34we might see, other than to note that Hezbollah consistently launches attacks across the border

14:38at Israel.

14:39It's not something that they would necessarily have to prepare for.

14:41You look at – just about every day over the past few weeks, there have been attacks

14:45that Hezbollah has launched on Iran – or I'm sorry, on Israel.

14:47So it is an ongoing conflict across the blue line that we are attempting to manage and

14:55attempting to ultimately reach a diplomatic resolution to.

14:57And then just lastly, have you heard indications from Hamas after Haniyeh's funeral now

15:02that they are going to come back to the table?

15:04Have they told the Qataris, the Egyptians, that they do plan to continue engaging?

15:08I don't want to speak to the substance of negotiations, other than to say that we continue

15:14to engage with our Qatari counterparts, our Egyptian counterparts.

15:18As I said, the Secretary had a call with the prime minister of Qatar earlier today, who

15:23of course is one of the lead interlocutors, and I think I'll leave it at that, other

15:27than to say the interlocutors, our interlocutors, Qatar and Egypt, are making clear to Hamas

15:34the same thing that we believe, which is that they need to continue to work to get to yes

15:38in an agreement.

15:39Thanks.

15:40Yeah.

15:42Just on those, so the Secretary had calls with the Egyptians and the Qataris.

15:48What are they saying about, you know, as it's kind of come up, you've got one side, they've

15:55been the interlocutors in these negotiations, one side has just assassinated the lead negotiator.

16:01Are they willing to continue hosting these talks when, you know, it seems like one side

16:09is sort of – has just taken an action that seems to threaten their position as mediator?

16:17They are.

16:19And we continue to express our gratitude for the role that both Qatar and Egypt have played

16:24in trying to reach a resolution to this conflict, in trying to reach a ceasefire that we eventually

16:29want to turn into an end to the war, and of course beyond that into broader peace and

16:34stability.

16:35Both of those two governments have put an extraordinary amount of work into reaching

16:39a ceasefire, as we have put an extraordinary amount of work, and they remain committed

16:42to trying to push forward in negotiations and reach an ultimate deal.

16:47And just on the question of an Iranian response, so in April there was an attack on a – an

16:55Israeli attack on an Iranian diplomatic facility or consulate facility.

17:01I think at the time there was never a conclusion from the U.S. whether it was – whether it

17:06did count as a consulate facility or not.

17:09Now we've got an attack on Iranian territory.

17:14Do they have – do the Iranians have the right to self-defense in this case?

17:18So I'm going to answer that question this way.

17:23The right is one question, what's productive is another, and ultimately we don't think

17:28it's productive or conducive to anyone's interests, including Iran's, to conduct

17:33further actions, be they retaliatory or not.

17:37Any further action by Iran just raises the risk of increased tensions, it raises the

17:43risk of further response from Israel or from other parties, and ultimately gets us into

17:49this position that we have worried about from the beginning, that you get a conflict that

17:52can spiral out of control.

17:54Now, we are working to prevent that from happening, and I think the point that we are trying to

17:57make to all the parties involved is that they all have agency as well in trying to prevent

18:02that from becoming an eventuality.

18:04And so that requires all parties, including Iran, making the appropriate decisions in

18:09the days to come, and that means not taking steps that could lead to a wider conflict.

18:14We think it's incumbent upon them to make those types of decisions.

18:18In the interest of consistency, though, wouldn't – your message to the Israelis is this is

18:24not helpful, or that's the President's words.

18:27I guess people would expect you to maybe go a bit further than to say this is not helpful

18:31when you're making these kind of requests of the Iranians not to respond.

18:36I mean, the President said that he didn't believe it was helpful, and the Secretary

18:41said on Thursday that all parties should stop taking escalatory actions, and I don't think

18:47we could be any more clear than that.

18:48Go ahead.

18:49Just to follow up on Alex's line of questioning, at least one airline has said that they're

18:56going to avoid airspace over Iran and Iraq in the coming days.

19:01Is that advice that's come from the United States?

19:03Is there a security assessment for U.S. airlines in particular that there should be – I don't

19:06think it'd fly over Iran if it did.

19:08I would defer to the FAA to speak to that.

19:11It's not something that I'm aware of from here.

19:12So, yeah.

19:13Thank you, Matt.

19:14Welcome back.

19:15Thanks.

19:16Good to see you.

19:17Matt, in your response to Libya and to Simon, as a matter of fact, you urged the Iranians

19:22– it's not in their interest to respond and so on.

19:25At least, do they have the right to respond?

19:26I mean, is that part of self-defense?

19:28So as I – I just answered that question.

19:30I just – on the issue of self-defense.

19:33I just answered that question in response to what I got from Simon.

19:36A right is one thing.

19:38Taking steps that are productive and are conducive to the interests of their people, that are

19:43conducive to the interests of the broader region, are another question.

19:46And in no way would a retaliatory action by Iran in any way serve the interests of the

19:51Iranian people or the broader region.

19:53And that's precisely why I'm asking, because you mentioned the word right.

19:56So you are acknowledging that they do have the right to respond?

20:00No, I did not acknowledge that.

20:01Okay.

20:02I acknowledged the question.

20:03Okay.

20:04Let me ask you, if this would, let's say, happen in any of the Western capitals, would

20:08they be sort of obligated to respond?

20:10I'm not going to deal with a hypothetical.

20:12Okay.

20:13All right.

20:14We'll deal with something real.

20:15A week ago, yesterday, Sunday, an Iran rocket hit, or maybe intentional hit a small town

20:23of Medj-el Shams, a Syrian town, Syrian citizens, and so on.

20:27And you said that Israel has a right to defend itself.

20:30I'm not you personally, but I'm saying, yeah.

20:32So what's different?

20:33I mean, you know, everybody was, everyone was saying Israel has a right to defend itself.

20:39Why doesn't Iran have a right to defend itself when the guest house, you know, I don't want

20:43to make comparisons, but it's like the guest house in London, or maybe Blair House, or

20:47anything.

20:48I mean, something that really touched the sovereignty of Iran.

20:51So I take the point of your question, Saeed.

20:56It is not in any way, however, useful at all for anyone in the region for Iran to consider

21:02taking such steps because of the risk, as I said, that this could potentially get out

21:10of control.

21:11And that's the message we will continue to impress on them.

21:12All right.

21:13Let me ask you on the negotiations.

21:15Why do you continue to have the notion that Israel is negotiating in good faith, when

21:21in fact it killed the chief negotiator of the other party?

21:24I mean, if you go and shoot the chief negotiator, you kill him, you know.

21:29People must think that you are not very serious about negotiations.

21:32So I will speak to what we've seen in the negotiations.

21:37And that is, first of all, an agreement to the framework, and then some other issues

21:42that we are trying to resolve going forward.

21:45And I'm not going to assess the motives of any of the parties involved.

21:51What I'm going to make clear is the position of the United States, that we have impressed

21:55upon the government of Israel quite directly, that they need to work to get to yes on this

22:00agreement.

22:01Okay.

22:02But, you know, Israel is not even allowing the food to go in.

22:05I mean, things are – aid is rotting, and they're not allowing anything to go in.

22:10And the situation is very, very dire in Gaza.

22:14So if they're not even showing that kind of gesture, why should they be taking it now?

22:19So, Said, I'm going to – not quibble, but I think the – it's not a premise.

22:25What you stated in the lead-up to your question is not – is incorrect.

22:28It's not that they are blocking aid from coming in.

22:30They are letting aid come to the various crossings, and then we continue to struggle with the

22:35security situation inside Gaza of getting out of the crossings, and that's something

22:39that we're working through with the government of Israel and the various UN agencies.

22:43But ultimately, it is always going to be difficult.

22:46We've seen – we're now nine months – more than nine months into this conflict,

22:49and what we've seen is it is always going to be difficult because of the unique nature

22:52of Gaza and the unique nature of this conflict to move humanitarian assistance around when

22:56you're in the middle of a conflict between the IDF and a terrorist organization that

23:02continues to kind of pop in and out of civilian infrastructure.

23:05And so that's why we continue to work for a ceasefire, because ultimately, that is the

23:09way to solve this humanitarian crisis that currently plagues the people of Gaza.

23:13And finally, I have one last question.

23:15An Israeli American soldier with a U.S. citizen posted videos showing a detonation of Gaza

23:21homes and mosques and so on.

23:23Is that – in fact, it's something that Amnesty called a war crime.

23:29If this U.S. citizen comes to the United States, should he be arrested?

23:33That's a question for the Justice Department, the State Department.

23:35Justice Department.

23:36But – okay, but is that a war crime if you show that you have done that?

23:38I cannot.

23:39So I can't – there's no way I can take any video devoid of context and pronounce

23:44judgment on whether it's a war crime or not from here.

23:46All right.

23:48Can I just check on one thing?

23:49Yeah.

23:50I think it was the third-to-last question that Said asked.

23:51The premise of it is that Israel had killed, had assassinated the top Hamas negotiator.

23:57Is that something that you're willing to accept and put on – say on the record that

24:01it was, in fact, Israel that did it?

24:03Or have I missed something over the course of the last couple days?

24:06So I will let every country speak to their actions.

24:09The United States, for our part, was not involved in any way in –

24:12No, I'm not asking if you were involved.

24:13I'm asking if you accept the premise of the question that Israel did, in fact, do

24:17it, if, in fact, the Israelis have told you that they were responsible.

24:20So I am not going to speak to what any other government may or may not have done.

24:25I will make clear that the United States not only was not involved, but we were not

24:28aware of this incident before it occurred.

24:31Yeah, QT.

24:33Sorry if this was asked before I walked in, but –

24:37Not the first time.

24:38I don't meet with you in general.

24:40It happens.

24:41Right.

24:42It's been reported that Iran has sent a message to Israel through a third party, obviously,

24:48that it will be attacking Israel.

24:50Do you think – this is a good sign that at least it's – if it's giving a warning

24:57that it will definitely be attacking, that it could be a little – maybe more limited

25:01and things stop there?

25:04So I'm not going to speak to that report.

25:07It's reportedly about conversations between two governments that are not the United States.

25:11I will let the countries involved speak to it.

25:14I wouldn't want to speculate or comment on it.

25:16Sorry.

25:17Sorry.

25:18Alex.

25:19Thank you, Matt.

25:20You said you expect each individual country in the region to speak up their mind, but

25:23Russia happens to be one of them, and Shoigu is in Tehran, I'm sure you have seen –

25:26Russia is a Middle Eastern country?

25:27Well, I mean, regional country.

25:28Well, he said that he – he said that they are –

25:31It's a broad definition of the Middle East, Alex.

25:33Yeah.

25:34They share a border as well.

25:35Overly broad, I would say.

25:36They are willing to cooperate, I'm quoting him, in dealing with current regional issues.

25:41You're quoting who?

25:42I'm sorry.

25:43Shoigu.

25:44Shoigu, yeah.

25:45He's in Tehran.

25:46What is Russia's responsibility at this point?

25:47Russia's responsibility?

25:49I don't think we have any – so I'll leave aside the question of responsibility.

25:53We don't have any expectations that Russia is going to play a productive role in de-escalating

25:57tensions.

25:58We haven't seen them play a productive role in this conflict since October 7th.

26:01They have, for the most part, been absent, and certainly we've seen them do nothing

26:05to urge any party to take de-escalatory steps.

26:08Okay.

26:09They give you the timing of this trip.

26:10Do you see this as an effort to undermine your efforts?

26:13I don't know what the timing of this trip relates to.

26:17But you can look at this two ways.

26:20One is any involvement Russia might play in the conflict in the Middle East, and so far

26:24we have seen them play really no role at all, certainly not any productive role.

26:27The other way to look at the possibility of this trip is it is furthering the relationship

26:32between the Government of Iran and the Government of Russia, and Russia going around tin-cupping

26:37looking for support for its illegal invasion of Ukraine.

26:43I don't know what that's – that's the purpose of this trip, but certainly we have

26:46seen that security relationship between Iran and Russia before.

26:49We can move to Ukraine when you're ready, if you want to come back to me.

26:52Go ahead.

26:53Can I ask one more question?

26:54Oh yeah, yeah.

26:55I got it.

26:56Go ahead.

26:57Just a slightly different question.

26:58Do you see the UN statement today on Iran?

27:01I saw it right before I came out.

27:04We haven't had a chance to – my understanding is there's an underlying report that we

27:09have not yet had a chance to review.

27:11Right.

27:12Okay.

27:13Are you willing to comment on that now?

27:14No.

27:15We haven't had a chance to look at the situation, and maybe tomorrow we can have something to

27:17say.

27:18Okay.

27:19My question is Russia-adjacent about detainees last week.

27:21Sure.

27:22So if you want to – okay.

27:23Sure.

27:24One is there were conflicting characterizations of whether Asukur Mesheva was in fact officially

27:28designated as wrongfully detained.

27:30Can you clarify whether she was or not before the release?

27:32She was.

27:33She was designated as wrongfully detained.

27:35When did that happen?

27:36It happened last week, shortly in the days before she was returned home.

27:39Okay.

27:40And the family of Mark Fogle in legal proceedings against this department has argued that

27:45had he been designated as wrongfully detained, it would have also led to his release.

27:49Do you have any comment on that?

27:51So I'm not going to speak to questions that involve ongoing litigation for reasons I think

27:57you can understand, but I will speak to this issue in general.

28:01First of all, with respect to Mark Fogle, we are working to try to secure his release.

28:05We work to try to secure his release as part of this deal, and we're unable to.

28:09But we continue to call for his release and we continue to work to secure his release.

28:14And I think, let me just point to the events of last week to talk about our record, because

28:20I have a number of times stood up here and been pressed why we haven't designated certain

28:26individuals as wrongfully detained.

28:28I think Alex asked me two weeks ago about the wrongful designation of Alsu Kermesheva,

28:32and I think asked me, you know, are we not designating her as wrongfully detained because

28:36she's a woman or because she's a Muslim?

28:37It's obviously not true, as I said at the time.

28:40And the point I made is when we say that we are working to get someone's release, we

28:46mean it.

28:47And our record backs it up.

28:49And sometimes we are working to obtain their release when they have officially received

28:54a wrongful detention determination.

28:58Sometimes there are other individuals who we say we're working to secure their release,

29:02and they never receive that determination.

29:03A great example is Vladimir Karamurza, who was not determined by this department to be

29:07wrongfully detained, but yet we were still able to secure his release last week.

29:12So let me just point to something the Secretary said in the statement he released on Thursday

29:17when this news became public, and that's that he knows – he had a lot of difficult conversations,

29:23as you would imagine, right, with the families of those who have been wrongfully detained

29:26and others who have been detained overseas over the past couple years.

29:29And he can certainly understand that there were times that they worried that our efforts

29:34would not bear fruit.

29:36But we know they never gave up hope, and we didn't give up hope, and we continued to

29:40work to secure all of their release, and that is true with Mark Fogle and that is true for

29:44every American who is wrongfully detained overseas.

29:47I certainly understand, and I'm not a lawyer for the family, that it's not maybe a prerequisite

29:52or a requirement for an American to be released, but it is a fact that three out of the four

29:57Americans in this case were designated as wrongfully detained, and that led to their

30:02release, as was Brittany Greiner.

30:03So just if there's anything else you want to say to the Fogle family at this particular

30:07–

30:08So I would say to the family, as you've heard from others in the Administration, that

30:11we continue to be committed to securing his release, and we continue to work on it.

30:15It's something that we think about every day.

30:17And the same thing that we said to the family of Paul Whelan when Brittany Greiner was returned,

30:22and we had tried to get Paul Whelan out as part of that deal, and it just simply wasn't

30:26– it wasn't on the table.

30:27It wasn't on the table as part of that deal, and we made clear to Paul and we made clear

30:31to his family that we had not forgotten him and that we would continue to work on his

30:35release, and that was true, and ultimately, we were able to get him home.

30:38The same thing is true with Mark Fogle.

30:40We continue to work on his release.

30:41We really wanted to get him out as part of this deal.

30:43We're not the only party to the deal, right, and we weren't able to do it, but we continue

30:49to work on it.

30:50And just with this question of wrongfully detained, not wrongfully detained, which we

30:55get asked about a lot for very understandable reasons, I would just note that there is a

30:59statutory review that we have to go through that lists certain factors that we have to

31:04apply when making the determination about whether someone is wrongfully detained or

31:09not, and we go through that and we have to apply the law rigorously, and that's what

31:11we do.

31:13But there are others who, for whatever reason, we have not made the determination at any

31:18one time.

31:19They have not met the statutory criteria, but if there's someone that we say that

31:23we are working to bring home, like Vladimir Karamazov, we're working to bring him home,

31:26and hopefully someday we will.

31:28Why was Karamazov not wrongfully detained?

31:31So as always, I'm not going to speak to the determination with any one individual,

31:36but it's – we have to go – we go through the statutory criteria with all of them and

31:41add all that up and make a determination based on the facts of their case, based on the law

31:45that applies to their case, and based on the requirements of the Levinson Act, does that

31:49all add up to a wrongful determination.

31:51And in the case of Alsu Karmasheva, the statutory review led us to conclude it did.

31:56In the case of Vladimir Karamazov, it led us to conclude that it did not.

32:00That said, we still thought he ought to be released.

32:04We still pressed for his release.

32:05We were still able to get his release.

32:07When did she – she was designated, day before or day after?

32:12It was sometime last week.

32:13I don't – I don't remember – I don't remember the exact day.

32:15It was sometime last week.

32:16But it did not happen before the decision was announced, right?

32:19I mean, she was released.

32:20Because I asked this question last week and Medant did not have the answer that she was

32:24designated.

32:26It happened last week, shortly before her release.

32:28I'm not going to get into any further time than that.

32:30Let me move to Ukraine, please.

32:31Yeah.

32:32Now the F-16s are in Ukrainian hands, is the United States Government willing to untie

32:36Ukraine's hands to strike back at military targets to prevent future attacks?

32:44To strike back –

32:45In Russia.

32:46In Russia.

32:47We have allowed the Ukrainian Government to strike military targets in Russia.

32:51They are still able to strike from over 100 kilometers.

32:55So Alex, you and I have been through this before.

32:56My answer has not changed today, which is we constantly look at the needs of the Ukrainian

33:01military.

33:02We assess the security situation and we try to be responsive to their needs.

33:06And that is a process that we have undergone from the beginning, and we make that process

33:09both – or we make those determinations both when it comes to the specific weapons that

33:14we provide Ukraine and the restrictions, if any, that we put on the use of those weapons.

33:18President Zelensky was quoted as saying that he wants NATO to discuss Ukraine, the possibility

33:22of destroying missiles in Ukrainian territory.

33:26Why is it not plausible, in your eyes?

33:28Why is it not plausible for –

33:29For NATO to –

33:31So that is a discussion that, as with all NATO discussions, is a discussion to be had

33:38among NATO members and a decision that NATO would reach collectively.

33:42It's not something I can speak to from here.

33:44My final one on Ukraine.

33:46Have you seen the video of dismemberment of Ukrainian prisoners, PAOs, in Russia?

33:51I have not.

33:52I have not.

33:53Go ahead.

33:55Matt, on Bangladesh.

33:56Bangladesh is free at the cost of hundreds of lives under the chute on site ordered by

34:04Autocratic Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

34:07But the situation is still unclear – students, leaders, opposition parties, and the army

34:12are trying to form a civilian government.

34:14Could you please provide more insight into the U.S. position?

34:19So as I said a few things.

34:20Number one, our condolences, of course, go out to those who have been hurt in the violence

34:26over the past few weeks.

34:28We are focused now on supporting an end to the violence and for accountability.

34:34All decisions regarding the interim government should be made with respect to democratic

34:39principles, rule of law, and the will of the Bangladeshi people.

34:42Yeah.

34:43As you said, accountability.

34:44If Sheikh Hasina flee to India and she is trying to get any of the Western country,

34:50will you allow her to come into the U.S. as she commit crime against humanity largely?

34:56I'm not aware of any request of that nature.

34:58Matt.

34:59Yeah, go ahead.

35:00Thank you so much.

35:01Guys, guys.

35:02One at a time.

35:03Thank you, Matt.

35:04The recent fall, we already know, Bangladeshi Government led widespread violence and chaos.

35:11What measure is the U.S. State Department or U.S. taking to address the reported atrocities

35:17against minorities and general populace in Bangladesh?

35:21So a few things.

35:22Number one, I have made – as I made clear, what we are calling for today is an end to

35:27the violence and for accountability.

35:28Now, as to what accountability looks like, that's something that should take place

35:32under Bangladeshi law.

35:34Obviously, anyone responsible for acts of violence, acts that break the law, should

35:38be held accountable for them.

35:40Thank you so much.

35:41Matt.

35:42Matt.

35:43Yeah, go ahead.

35:44Matt, thanks.

35:45During the time that Bangladeshi people struggle against that fascist ruler and thousands of

35:51people got killed, you already informed us that she fled the country this morning.

35:56I didn't inform you that.

35:57I think –

35:58Okay.

35:59You said it.

36:00Okay.

36:01Said she – I said we've seen the announcement she resigned.

36:02Announcement, yeah.

36:03Okay.

36:04She resigned.

36:05Okay.

36:06After she left, there is a – dozens of dead bodies are pulling out from the Gonov Oban,

36:09the official residence of prime minister.

36:12There is a – dozens of dead bodies are pulling out next to the parliament.

36:15There is a lot of atrocities that are taking place by the government official, those who

36:20are still in power, especially a couple of people.

36:24Army Chief of Staff General Wakaru Zaman, he was involved with genocide.

36:31Navy Chief Admiral Mohammad Nazmul Hassan, he was involved with the genocide.

36:35Senior Chief Marshal Hassan Mahmood Khan, they were involved with the genocide.

36:39And they're the same people are saying, we are going to the president and form a caretaker

36:44government.

36:45So as a matter of fact, when was the last time we heard a killer is going to do the

36:49justice for another killer?

36:51So let me say a few things.

36:52Number one, with respect to the violence over the past few weeks and the deaths that have

36:58occurred, it is vital that we have full and transparent investigations to ensure accountability

37:03for these deaths.

37:04Does –

37:05Second, as it relates to the interim government, as I made clear in my opening remarks, we

37:09think that it's important that we focus on the Bangladeshi people's democratic aspirations

37:15and see a path to democratic governance.

37:20Does America support Bangladesh military to install a caretaker government?

37:24We want to see the Bangladeshi people decide the future of the Bangladeshi Government.

37:28Janneke.

37:29Oh, yeah.

37:30Yeah, go ahead.

37:31Go ahead.

37:32Just have there been any – has there been any contact, as far as you know, with Bangladeshi

37:36officials, be it in the military or in the former government, or –

37:41I don't have any to report today.

37:43There may have been contacts from our embassy, but I'm not aware of any.

37:45I don't have any to announce.

37:47And just also in terms of some U.S. issues with Bangladesh, the issue of the Rohingya,

37:50of course, has been something that's been quite important between the U.S. and Bangladesh.

37:53Do you – is there any concern that this would impact the housing of the Rohingya refugees?

37:58So I think, as you know, the United States has provided – I'm going to try to do

38:03the number here – I think it's around $2 billion to assist with refugees in Bangladesh.

38:10And I don't have any immediate comment on how this change of government might affect

38:16those programs.

38:17I would certainly hope that it wouldn't.

38:19We think it's important that Bangladesh continue to provide hospitality to those refugees

38:26and we'll continue to work with them to do so.

38:28Hold on.

38:29Hold on.

38:30Guys, hold on.

38:31Simon, did you have a –

38:32Yeah.

38:33Well, Sean asked most of my questions, but I did want to ask on is there ongoing assistance

38:40to Bangladesh, both in terms of humanitarian aid that will continue and also military – will

38:48military assistance continue given, I guess, there's – this is not a coup, but there's

38:52questions over the transfer of power?

38:54Yeah.

38:55So certainly with respect to the kind of illusion in the last part of your question, so we've

39:03seen – all that we know right now is we've seen the announcement from the government

39:06that she resigned.

39:07We don't have any further information about how that resignation may have taken place.

39:11With respect to – and that goes to the question, obviously, of financial support.

39:16So with respect to financial support, in fiscal year 2023, the United States provided over

39:21$212 million in bilateral economic, development, and health assistance to Bangladesh.

39:27Obviously, this – I don't have any announcements with respect to those programs, other than

39:30that we would like to see them continue because they're important to our relationship with

39:35the people of Bangladesh.

39:36And just to confirm the question Sean answered, it was we provided nearly 2 billion in humanitarian

39:43assistance to support Rohingya refugees since August of 2017.

39:46Sure.

39:47Can I just take just another question on that?

39:51Just taking a step back a little bit, I mean, how do you actually feel about the army's

39:54role?

39:55How does the United States feel?

39:56Do you think that they were productive in this?

39:57Is there any concern that an interim role could become more than an interim role?

40:01So let me answer that two ways.

40:03One, with respect to their role over the past several days, we have seen the reports that

40:09the army resisted calls to crack down on the protesters.

40:14And if those reports are true, certainly that is something that we would encourage.

40:17We don't – we made clear, I think, for several weeks now that people have a legitimate

40:22right to protest and to peacefully assemble, and we opposed any kind of violent crackdown.

40:27So if it is true, in fact, that the army resisted calls to crack down on lawful protesters,

40:36that would be a positive development.

40:37With respect to where we go from here, what we want to see is democratic order.

40:44We want to see the Bangladeshi people choose their own government, and that's what we

40:47will be looking for in the days and weeks ahead.

40:49Let me go to Janne.

40:51Thank you, Matt.

40:52Two questions.

40:53North Korea announced that it will deploy a large-scale tactical nuclear ballistic missile

41:02launcher to the front lines.

41:05What do you think of North Korea's certain actions?

41:10We would encourage North Korea to discontinue taking provocative and unproductive steps

41:16and return to the negotiating table.

41:17Do you think North Korea is – seventh nuclear test is imminent?

41:23I don't have any assessment to offer on that.

41:25Well, quick question.

41:26North Korea is currently experiencing many casualties due to flood.

41:33South Korea said it would provide humanitarian aid.

41:39But North Korea chose only support from Russia.

41:45What do you think of North Korea, which selectively chooses humanitarian aid?

41:52So obviously, our thoughts are always with the people of North Korea, as they are with

41:56the people of any country around the world when they suffer a humanitarian disaster.

42:01And whatever differences we have with any government, those are not differences with

42:07the people of that country.

42:09And so we would hope to see the humanitarian needs of the North Korean people addressed,

42:14and I'll let South Korea speak to decisions or offers that they might have made.

42:20Yeah.

42:21Yes, Matt.

42:22I know you didn't want to answer a question about the limitations – on whether there

42:25are limitations on U.S. support to Israel.

42:28But my question, when you say that no one – and your message is no one should say

42:34no to de-escalation, is it applicable to everyone?

42:38Is it applicable to all parties?

42:40Is this your message to Israel?

42:42I mean –

42:43Yes.

42:44On my statement, when I said all parties, I very much meant all parties, as did the

42:47Secretary when he spoke to this last week.

42:49Yeah, go ahead, and then I'll go.

42:54Thank you, Matt.

42:55The Iranian Security Council members spoke to Al-Qaida's Al-Jarida newspaper, and they

42:59said that a delegation – a U.S. delegation has visited Iran through Turkey with the mediation

43:05of Oman.

43:06What's your comment on that?

43:07And has anyone from the State Department or the U.S.

43:11Government spoke directly with the Iranians on this issue?

43:14So with respect to Iran, we've always said we have the ability to send messages to them

43:20or to get messages to them when it's in our interest to do so, and I will leave it at

43:24that.

43:25And last time when Iran attacked Israel on April 13th, they said – they claimed that

43:29they sent wide notes to everyone, including the U.S.

43:33They said the U.S. that they are going to attack Israel.

43:37Have you received any notification from Iran on this?

43:39So let me just say a number of things, that there were reports about what Iran said to

43:44us last time that proved to be completely untrue.

43:48There were – you may remember this, that there were a number of things the Iranian

43:50Government put out that just – about messages they sent to us that just weren't – flatly

43:54were false.

43:56And with respect to any communications, I'm not going to speak to them now other than

43:59to say you should be highly skeptical, as always, about reports of what the Iranian

44:04Government may or may not have sent to us in the message through an intermediary, a

44:08third party, or otherwise.

44:09And last thing, how did Iran receive your messages through your diplomatic engagements?

44:16I will let the countries who are party to those diplomatic engagements speak to that.

44:21As I said, and I think in response to one of the questions earlier, we are making clear

44:25to all of our allies and partners in the region and beyond who have diplomatic engagements

44:28with Iran that they should press Iran to take de-escalatory steps and refrain from further

44:33escalation.

44:34But I'll let those countries involved speak to any specific conversations.

44:37Ryan.

44:38Thanks, Matt.

44:39I'm not sure if you saw there was a report in Semaphore that the Wall Street Journal

44:42tried valiantly to try to confirm its reporting on the UNRWA allegations made by Israel.

44:48Yeah.

44:49Talked to American intelligence sources, Israeli intelligence sources, were completely unable

44:52to substantiate them.

44:54Does the State Department have anything new about those UNRWA allegations?

44:57And in the future, will the State Department consider allegations coming from Israel differently

45:03given that these have not yet been backed up by such drastic measures?

45:06So I did see that report.

45:07And I think it is a good time to remind everyone that the action that we took was not in response

45:14to information that the Government of Israel brought to us.

45:17It was in response to UNRWA coming to us and UNRWA saying that they had received these

45:21allegations from the Government of Israel and they found them credible.

45:25And so that was what made us – that was what led us to make the decision that we made.

45:30It wasn't getting anything from the Government of Israel.

45:32It was when UNRWA itself said they found the allegations credible that we thought it was

45:35the appropriate step to take to pause the funding.

45:38Now, with respect to the underlying investigation, so if Sean asked me about it, I believe the

45:43UN has issued a statement about it earlier today.

45:46We have not yet had a chance to review either the statement or what I understand to be an

45:49underlying report, but we'll certainly do so over the coming days and we'll leave it

45:52until we've had a chance to do so to pass judgment.

45:55The IDF also announced that they assassinated the Gaza minister of the economy.

46:00I'm curious if – does the State Department consider somebody like that to be a combatant?

46:05So I do – I didn't see that announcement.

46:08I don't know who the person was.

46:09I don't know if he had an active role in the Hamas military wing or not.

46:13So I would – to be able to answer that question, I'd have to know more about this specific

46:16person.

46:17They said his – they said he counts because he had a role over the economy and the economy

46:21is – has a role over manufacturing, and within manufacturing there are weapons that

46:25are manufactured.

46:26Again, I would – I'd have to look at it in more detail before I could give you any

46:30kind of detailed assessment.

46:33Go ahead in the back.

46:34Good afternoon.

46:35Yeah.

46:36I'll answer that.

46:37I have just a follow-up.

46:38Is there is a transition period of from a caretaker government in Bangladesh.

46:45Does America have any plan to assist Bangladesh in rebuild its economy?

46:52Does it have plans to what?

46:53Does the U.S. have plans to what?

46:54I didn't catch the last part.

46:55Rebuilding its economy.

46:59So we greatly value our relationship with the people of Bangladesh, and we want to see

47:04that continue.

47:05But I would just urge everyone with requests or questions about what the future may entail.

47:10We are not even 12 hours out from the reported resignation of the prime minister, so I would

47:15encourage everyone to just respectfully take a beat before making any kind of long-term

47:18assessments.

47:19Go ahead.

47:21Just a follow-up on the ceasefire negotiations.

47:23You said they're not stalled.

47:25What are you basing this answer on?

47:27Are you getting any signs from any government in the region that they're pressing either

47:31the Palestinians or the Israelis to actually agree to the ceasefire?

47:35So it is based on our conversations with the other interlocutors.

47:40It's based on our conversations with the government of Qatar, with the government of Egypt.

47:44Now, that's not to say we've come to agreement on all of the underlying issues.

47:47We clearly haven't.

47:49We need to bridge those differences, but we continue to work through it productively with

47:54the interlocutors.

47:55We know they are pressing Hamas to accept a deal, just as we are pressing Israel to

47:59reach a deal, because we think it's important to do so, and that's what we're going to continue

48:03to do in the days ahead.

48:04And do you think it's possible to oppress Israel, given that there – it doesn't seem

48:09to be in Netanyahu's interest at this point to reach a ceasefire.

48:12At least that's what the Israeli media is saying.

48:15That's what a lot of Israeli officials are saying.

48:17So the media says a lot of things.

48:19Officials say a lot of things.

48:20We believe it is very clearly in the interests of the Israeli people, and that's why – among

48:25the reasons why we'll continue to push for it.

48:27Let me go ahead, and then we'll wrap today.

48:28I just want to drill down a little bit, because, I mean, what's new about the media reports

48:31out of Israel is that now you have the head of the IDF, Shin Bet, and Mossad being quoted

48:36as confronting the prime minister and basically saying either give us something to go on or

48:42there's going to be no deal.

48:43That's a paraphrase.

48:44Yeah.

48:45But does the U.S. not view those reports as credible?

48:48So I am never going to speak to reports about machinations inside any other government,

48:56or I don't know whether – the veracity of those underlying reports.

48:59And ultimately, it doesn't change what we're trying to do and it doesn't change our approach,

49:03which is what we're trying to do is reach a ceasefire, and what – the way we're

49:06approaching it is continue to work with the parties to try to get one over the line.

49:10Nothing about those reports changes our goal.

49:13So is that not an exercise in futility if the de facto leader of the country is reluctant

49:18to stand up?

49:19We do not believe it is.

49:20Look, the President had a very direct, candid conversation with the prime minister about

49:24this last week, and we will continue to engage with them to make clear that we believe a

49:29ceasefire is in their interest, just as we believe it's in the interest of the Palestinian

49:33people and work to get one over the line.

49:34And with that, we'll wrap for today.

49:35Thanks, everyone.

49:36Oh, did you have one more?

49:37Sorry.

49:38Go ahead, guys.

49:39I'll go ahead and answer that.

49:40Yeah.

49:41For a moment.

49:42It's important.

49:43The –

49:44Yeah.

49:45How did it go through without – I'll give you a question.

49:46Well, I'm here to –

49:47I'm going on today, yeah.

49:48But can I just ask, the Secretary had the call and the statement last week with the

49:54opposition there.

49:55Is the U.S. ready to recognize another interim president, similar to what happened earlier

50:00with Guaido, or is it more just a matter of not recognizing Maduro as the –

50:03That's not a step that we are taking today.

50:07What we – where we are today is we are in close contact with our partners in the region,

50:13especially with Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, about a path forward.

50:18We continue to urge the Venezuelan parties to begin discussions on a peaceful transition

50:23back to democratic norms.

50:25We continue to call for transparency and the release of detailed tally votes while recognizing

50:30it's been over a week since the election, and any release of those votes would require

50:34close scrutiny given the potential for tampering or manipulation in that timeframe.

50:39So no, that's not a step that we have taken as of yet, but we continue to make clear that

50:45the will of the Venezuelan people needs to be respected, and that's what we're engaging

50:48with our partners in the region about.

50:50Sure.

50:51And just do you have any reaction to the EU today, so it won't recognize the result?

50:56Is there a press for – what's the U.S. call for other countries in terms of how to

51:00approach Venezuela?

51:01Is there also an idea that perhaps other countries should take steps of not recognizing Maduro

51:05as the victor?

51:07We would hope to see all parties take the steps that we have done, which is to call

51:12for full transparency, to ask for the full results to be released, and then ultimately

51:20to begin discussions about a transition back to democratic norms.

51:26That's what we're encouraging.

51:27It's what we're discussing with our partners in the region and our partners around the

51:30world, and we hope all countries would adopt that.

51:34Obviously, this is a question about respecting the will of the Venezuelan people.

51:39And as we concluded – and you saw in the statement that we released last week, when

51:42you look at the tallies that the opposition made public, it's clear that even if every

51:47outstanding vote came back for Maduro, it wouldn't be enough to overcome the advantage

51:51that Edmundo González had, and obviously saw the report in The Washington Post concluding

51:58the same thing over the weekend, and so we're going to continue to push for respect for

52:03the will – or the will and the votes, actually, of the Venezuelan people.

52:07Alex.

52:08While we've been in here, I was just sent videos from Russian state media of the apprehensions

52:13of both Whelan and Gershkovich.

52:15I'm wondering if you've seen them and have any reaction to them.

52:17The Whelan one shows him appearing to accept a thumb drive before his arrest by masked

52:24men.

52:25Have you seen these videos?

52:26So I'm going to rely on a rule I established in my very first briefing, which is anything

52:32that breaks while I'm up at the podium, I'm going to take a moment and step off

52:35the podium and comment on, so I'll be – next time I'm back up here, I'll be happy to

52:38comment on that.

52:39But no, if it's something that broke while I was here, I have not seen them, and so wouldn't

52:42– wouldn't like to comment.

52:43I don't know if it broke beforehand.

52:44I was just –

52:45Yeah, I have not seen them, so –

52:46Okay.

52:47I assume it broke while I was up here.

52:49So with that, thanks, everyone.

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