State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller holds a press briefing.
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NewsTranscript
00:00All right.
00:05Happy Thursday.
00:06I don't have anything to start, so why don't we start with questions?
00:09Daphne.
00:11So Biden and Yahoo! are due to meet.
00:13What's the main message that the U.S. is going to convey in this meeting, and what more does
00:17Israel need to do to bring this ceasefire to a reality?
00:20So I actually think they're meeting right now, or at least we're scheduled for a meeting
00:24that's starting right now.
00:25The Secretary is there attending that meeting.
00:27And I would expect that the primary focus of this will be on the ongoing negotiations
00:33to reach a ceasefire deal that would bring home the hostages, including the American
00:37hostages who remain held inside Gaza, that would alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian
00:43people that we think would set the conditions for lasting peace and lasting regional stability.
00:48And so I think the message from the American side in that meeting will be that we need
00:52to get this deal over the line, that we have been working on this for some time.
00:56It's been a tough negotiation.
00:57We've made progress.
00:58We've gotten a framework agreement, and we now need to bridge the final differences and
01:03get a deal, and get a deal in place so we can all move forward.
01:07What more do you need to see from Israel, and what more do you need to see from Hamas
01:11to get this over the finish line?
01:12So I don't want to negotiate in public, but we did get a – I think it was a significant
01:18breakthrough that we got an agreement on the framework that the President laid out.
01:22Obviously, there were pieces of that framework that we had been negotiating for months and
01:27that we had been pushing for agreement on for months.
01:30But there are still some remaining issues.
01:32Some of those – we haven't ever talked about them publicly, I don't believe, but
01:35some of those have been reported publicly that have remained sticking points.
01:40But we do believe there are practical solutions that we have put on the table, that the other
01:44mediators have put on the table, that would bridge the divide between the two parties.
01:48And so what we need to see is for an agreement to be reached, and that means both sides coming
01:55to the table in good faith and being willing to reach an agreement.
01:58And we think we can get there, but there's more work to do.
02:00And what was your take on Netanyahu's speech to Congress yesterday?
02:04Did it leave you with any concerns about his willingness to reach a deal?
02:07I don't have any overall take on his speech.
02:09Obviously, we'd heard many of the things that he said publicly yesterday.
02:13We've heard him say before in press conferences, and having been to the region with the Secretary
02:17eight times, I have heard many of the things that he said publicly.
02:20I've heard him say privately in meetings that we have held with him.
02:25But no, there was nothing in the speech that made us any more or less concerned about our
02:30chances to reach a ceasefire deal.
02:35Israel has continued to commit to us that they want to reach a ceasefire, and they have
02:39continued to join negotiations with the U.S., with Egypt, with Qatar, to try to reach an
02:44agreement.
02:45And as always, we're going to judge them by the actions that they take, not necessarily
02:48what they say in public.
02:50Okay.
02:51And then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff today said he has still not been
02:55able to see much from Israel about its day-after planning once the war with Hamas ends, saying
03:00there's not a lot of detail he's been able to see from a plan from them.
03:03What's the latest on this, and are you satisfied with the pace at which the Israelis are putting
03:07this plan together?
03:08So that's accurate.
03:09They have not put forward a great deal of detail about plans for the day after, but
03:13we have been having conversations with them about this.
03:16And they are in a different place than they were several months ago when they hadn't really
03:20thought about a day after at all.
03:21And you heard the Secretary talk about the dangers of Israel not planning for a day after
03:25and what it would mean for the future of Gaza and what a security threat it would pose to
03:31the State of Israel and the people of Israel.
03:33Since then, we have been engaged in conversations with them, as well as with our Arab partners.
03:38There are ideas that we have put forward, there are ideas that our Arab partners have
03:41put forward, and there have been some ideas that Israel has put forward.
03:45Not fully developed yet, not fully to the place where I think you could call them a
03:50proposal, but we are at the point where we're talking with them and they're putting forward
03:53some ideas.
03:54And it is important that they take the matter seriously, just as it's important everyone
03:58take the matter seriously, because as you have heard the Secretary say, in the absence
04:03of realistic plans for the day after the conflict, you will either have Israel occupying Gaza,
04:12which we reject, they have said they don't want to do, you will have Hamas in charge,
04:16which obviously is not in the interest of Israel and clearly is also not in the interest
04:19of the region, or you'll have chaos and anarchy, which is a breeding ground for terrorism,
04:26will hurt the interests of the Palestinian people in Gaza, make it harder for them to
04:30get food and water and civilian assistance that really is not in anyone's interest.
04:34So we're going to continue to push them to engage seriously on these plans because they're
04:39critical not just to the future of the Palestinian people, but to the future of Israel as well.
04:43Okay.
04:44Last one.
04:45Sorry.
04:46What should we expect in terms of meetings over the next week to try and reach the ceasefire
04:48deal?
04:49So I don't want to preview any specific meetings.
04:52Obviously, the one happening today is important.
04:54It's important that the leaders of our two countries engage on this.
04:58It's always important when negotiators get in a room too, but it takes political consensus
05:05as well.
05:06So oftentimes, when you see the Secretary in the region pushing for a ceasefire deal,
05:13there's work that's going on at a working level to try and hammer out through the details,
05:18but the Secretary is there pushing for political will and political agreement and political
05:24courage to move forward by parties to a deal.
05:30And I think that's the same thing you will see the President doing in the meeting today.
05:35Yeah.
05:36Thanks, Matt.
05:37And just to understand a little bit more in terms of this meeting today, this is not an
05:43opportunity for the Israeli prime minister to push any new demands, is that correct?
05:48Oh, so I'm not going to speak for the prime minister.
05:51Obviously, I've made clear what we think will be the primary subject of the meeting, won't
05:55be the only subject.
05:56Obviously, I'm sure that they will cover humanitarian assistance, they will cover the threat from
06:00Iran, they will cover stability in the region.
06:02There are any number of things that they will discuss, but that's the primary objective
06:06from our standpoint.
06:07But both sides get to talk in a meeting, so I'm sure that the prime minister will have
06:11his own points of view to make clear as well.
06:13Okay.
06:14We're just asking that in the context of these Israeli negotiators pushing back their trip
06:18to do in-person talks and whether that was related to the timing of Netanyahu's meeting
06:23with Biden.
06:24But on the – just pivoting to his address to Congress, I mean, you mentioned that he
06:28didn't say anything that would affect hostage ceasefire talks, but he did say some pretty
06:34derogatory things about U.S. protesters.
06:38Having mentioned that this is a citadel of democracy, the United States, and then to
06:43call American protesters Tehran's useful idiots, and also to cite U.S. intelligence
06:52saying that Iran had financed protesters – that is something that has been said, but we don't
06:57know the full extent of that.
06:59Do you have anything to say in response to the Israeli prime minister labeling American
07:05protesters in that way, given that this is a substantial part of the voting population
07:11in this country?
07:12Yeah.
07:13Let me just speak about protests in general, including the protests that we saw in Washington
07:17yesterday, including the statement that the director of national intelligence released
07:21– I think it was two weeks ago now.
07:22So first of all, with respect to her statement, she made very clear in releasing it that the
07:27United States, this administration, strongly support the right to protest, the actions
07:33that our government takes, and that we have seen Iranian support for protests, but that
07:38we understand that the vast majority of protesters in America are not taking their orders from
07:44Iran and that most of the people who might have received support from Iran wouldn't
07:51even know that that's where it was coming from.
07:53So I think we ought to just be very clear about the facts that the director of national
07:56intelligence made public in that statement she released.
08:00On the overall issue of protests – so look, as I said, this administration – the United
08:05States and this administration in particular strongly supports the right of any American
08:09to protest.
08:11People questioning our government, speaking up, speaking out about the policy choices
08:16that we have made, it's part of the healthy democratic process.
08:19It actually strengthens the fabric of this nation.
08:24But at the same time, something is seriously wrong when you see people marching through
08:31the streets of Washington carrying Hamas banners – literal Hamas banners – carrying the
08:39Hamas flag down the streets of Washington, D.C.
08:42When you see people spray-painting on fountains in Washington that Hamas is coming, when you
08:48see them displaying signs calling for the death of Jews, when you see them burning American
08:54flags, it's despicable, it's hateful.
08:59It runs contrary to the values of this country.
09:03I think especially when you consider what that flag that we saw being burned yesterday
09:07stands for – and one of the things it stands for is the right to protest, the right to
09:12make your views known, make them known peacefully – it's one of the things that makes this
09:16country what it is and what it has been for almost 250 years.
09:21So I would say to anyone that is burning an American flag while spray-painting pro-Hamas
09:29graffiti in Washington to stop and think for a moment about what would happen if they were
09:38protesting Hamas's rule in Gaza.
09:41And it's not a question that you have to look very hard for an answer, because we know,
09:44because we've seen in the past when people have protested in Hamas's rule in Gaza,
09:48we've seen how Hamas has responded.
09:50They've responded with brutal crackdowns, with arrests, with violent repression.
09:55Fortunately, that is not who we are in this country.
09:57That is not who we are going to be in this country.
10:00We stand by, as I said, the right to protest, the right to dissent.
10:03And I know that the vast majority of people who were on the streets of Washington yesterday
10:09were patriotic Americans who were making their views known, even if they disagree with the
10:14choices that their elected officials make and the choices that we make, and we support
10:18their right to do so.
10:20But for those who were out yesterday showing support for Hamas, I would ask them to just
10:24think very hard about the choices they are making and who they are really supporting,
10:29because it is not peace, it's not democracy, and it is certainly not the values that we
10:33share as Americans.
10:34Okay.
10:35And just one more.
10:36Sorry.
10:37Go ahead.
10:38Can I just – on his address as well, he had mentioned that Israel has gone to extraordinary
10:40efforts to send – to drop leaflets, to make phone calls in Gaza, and also he cited a West
10:47Point expert saying that this is – who's a – he said in the entire history of wars
10:54that Israel has done more to make sure that they don't hurt civilians.
11:00And do you have any comment on some of the things that he said when you look at the conclusions
11:05of the NSM report, which did question whether Israel is – has been able to be compliant
11:13with international law, that there is still concern that it hasn't, and that when it
11:17comes to things like leafleting, that perhaps more could have been done?
11:20Yeah.
11:21I mean, you stand by the conclusions of that U.S. response to his report?
11:25We do.
11:26So look – yeah, so we do stand by the conclusions of that report.
11:29It is certainly accurate that Israel has taken steps to minimize civilian harm.
11:34The prime minister went through them yesterday.
11:36There have been others that he didn't detail but that we've heard them speak to in the
11:40past and that they briefed us on in the past.
11:43But it is also true that thousands upon thousands of innocent civilians have died as a result
11:48of this military campaign.
11:50Obviously, we all recognize – we've talked about it in this briefing room a number of
11:54times about the really difficult task that Israel faces when you have Hamas hiding behind
11:59civilians, making them human shields.
12:01But at the same time, we still believe that Israel needs to do more to minimize civilian
12:06casualties.
12:07That includes in Rafah.
12:08That includes in the campaigns that they are conducting now in Khan Yunis.
12:12There are innocent civilians who are in harm's way, who had nothing to do with the decision
12:19by Hamas to start this war and probably want to see it end immediately.
12:24And Israel needs to take great care to minimize harm to those innocent civilians because they
12:28are in a conflict that they did not start, they did not make, and I suspect in many cases
12:33want to end.
12:34Said, go ahead.
12:36Thank you, Matt.
12:38Just taking your response to Kamala on the protest and so on, I mean, as despicable as
12:44the burning of the flag, the American flag is, and it is a despicable act.
12:50But it was done during the anti-war movement against Vietnam.
12:55It was done to protest the war on Iraq and so on, and many other times.
13:00But it's what you said.
13:01You said that they have the right to do that.
13:04Correct.
13:05And that's what makes this country different than any other place.
13:07Correct.
13:08So, and you talked about the patriotism of those people who are protesting.
13:12And here's my question.
13:13Is it appropriate for a foreign leader to come and speak from the Congress, you know,
13:20to the raucous applause of those present, about calling those Americans, you know, useful
13:27idiots of an animus foreign power, and basically questioning their patriotism and so on?
13:33Is it appropriate of him to do that?
13:35So I am not going to make assessments about what the prime minister said or what he believes.
13:42I will speak on behalf of the United States.
13:43And I just gave you our views about protests and how we see the connection between protests
13:48and the attempts by the Iranian Government to influence those protests.
13:52And I'll let the prime minister speak for himself.
13:55Well, do we have any information that Iran has actually financed these protests?
14:02We do.
14:04We made that public in the statement that they had supported – now, again, when I
14:08say these protests, I'm not speaking to any one specific protest.
14:11And as the Director of National Intelligence made clear, the vast majority of protesters
14:16have nothing, nothing to do with Iranian influence.
14:20That is an important factual thing.
14:22But yes, we do have evidence that Iran is supporting the protests.
14:24That they actually financed some of these protests?
14:25Correct.
14:26Correct.
14:27Okay.
14:28All right, let me just move on, then.
14:29I have a couple of other things to ask about.
14:32Now, I know you mentioned the – about the loss of life in Gaza and so on, but a new
14:38report that's really – it's just staggering – by Airwards, and it talks about how accurate
14:43the figures that are being announced by the Ministry of Health in Gaza.
14:49And these are horrific figures.
14:51I mean, you know, everybody talks about the day after, but really the day now – I mean,
14:56the present day is a horrific day.
14:57I mean, we're talking about a place that is being subjected to war, where 80 percent
15:03of that space has been destroyed, where a huge number of people have been killed and
15:07so on.
15:08When you look at it in those kind of percentages and so on, it really is staggering.
15:13And I – I mean, how can we go forward looking at this carnage and this going day in and
15:19day out without feeling a sense of urgency to basically say this is the time to end it?
15:26So a few things.
15:27One, with respect to the numbers themselves, you've heard us speak to these before, that
15:30I think – the term I use, I think they're probably directionally accurate, which is
15:34not to say they're accurate down to the precise number or what percentage they're
15:38off by.
15:39And that is due to a number of things.
15:40Number one, the way in which the numbers are being assessed has changed over time, where
15:45they're no longer releasing the names, which they were, I think, in the first month or
15:49two or three of those who were killed.
15:52Second thing is that some percentage of that number – and I think that's unknowable
15:56– some percentage of the number that's released are not civilians, are militants,
15:59right?
16:00And we don't know the exact number.
16:02But then it's also true that there are probably, almost certainly, a number of innocent
16:06civilians who are buried under rubble who remain accounted for who aren't included
16:10in that number.
16:11So what the actual number is, I think we don't know, but it is far, far too high.
16:20So when you ask the – there's something you said in the lead-up to the question is
16:24how do we – where do we go from here?
16:28And I think the – what we would say – one of the difficult things that this region has
16:35faced for so long is there has been such tremendous loss on both sides of this conflict, obviously
16:42thousands of Palestinians killed in the war in Gaza, 1,200 Israelis who were killed on
16:49October 7th.
16:50But I would say the question that we would put to both the State of Israel and to leaders
16:59in the Palestinian community is where we go from here ought to be something different,
17:05and how do we get there?
17:07And the way to get there is to stop the dehumanization on both sides of people who don't look like
17:13them, don't believe the same thing as them, don't have the same views, and try to see
17:18each other as humans and try to reach political solutions that will break this conflict of
17:25violence.
17:26And so what we're trying to do is an immediate step to get – to do that, and when I say
17:30try to do it, I mean literally right now in a meeting between the President and the Prime
17:33Minister is to get a ceasefire agreement that would start to build a foundation to get us
17:39out of this mess.
17:40Now, my last question regarding the number of UN workers that have been killed, about
17:46366, and my question pertains to the day after in terms of aid and so on and aid workers
17:52and organizations and so on.
17:55Do you think this is discouraging for organizations to go in in Gaza and do their work?
18:00Yeah, it's – of course it is.
18:02Of course, every person who's thinking about signing up to be an aid worker, signing up
18:09to deliver humanitarian assistance, signing up to – if you're a doctor or a nurse to
18:14provide medical assistance inside Gaza, of course they can't help, I'm sure, but think
18:19about the personal risk that they put themselves under.
18:23It's why it's so remarkable that so many people, despite those risks, continue to go do it
18:27every day, and it speaks to the enormous courage that they show in putting their lives potentially
18:35on the line to help other people.
18:38You've heard the Secretary say that the remarkable thing about humanitarian workers is that not
18:41just in this conflict but all around the world, they run to the conflict.
18:45When times when other people are, for very good reason, running away, they run to it
18:49and they try to help other people.
18:53And it just highlights the need to, while the conflict's ongoing, do everything we
18:58can to protect humanitarian workers, and we do – we work on that every day, but then
19:02ultimately, as I've said, to get a ceasefire.
19:04Yeah.
19:05Go ahead.
19:06Go ahead.
19:07Go ahead.
19:08Go ahead.
19:09Go ahead.
19:10Go ahead.
19:11Go ahead.
19:12Go ahead.
19:13Go ahead.
19:14Go ahead.
19:15Go ahead.
19:16Go ahead.
19:17Yeah.
19:18So on Tuesday, you were asked about the Beijing declaration.
19:19Has the U.S. get a chance to review the text, and has the United States spoken to Abbas directly
19:20regarding the declaration?
19:22And the declaration mentioned unity under the framework of PLO.
19:28What is the U.S. perspective to bring Hamas under the umbrella of PLO?
19:34So a few things.
19:35I'm not going to get into the declaration now, which we hadn't when I spoke to this
19:38Monday or Tuesday, whenever it was.
19:42I would say that – a few things about it.
19:44Just in terms of the context, it's important to remember that Fatah and Hamas have signed
19:49a number of previous declarations similar to this that ultimately have gone nowhere,
19:54so we'll wait to see what this ultimately means, but I think that's important context
19:57for everyone to remember.
19:59But when it comes to the question about the PLO, I think the important thing is that nowhere
20:06in this declaration did Hamas agree to the principles of the PLO.
20:11Nowhere either in this declaration or anywhere else have they renounced violence, have they
20:14renounced the destruction of the State of Israel, have they renounced terrorism, and
20:19have they committed to nonviolent political means to try to achieve the legitimate aspirations
20:25of the Palestinian people.
20:26So I think that tells you a lot about their continued motives, as does the fact that they
20:32continue to launch terrorist attacks against the State of Israel as recently as the last
20:36few weeks.
20:37Launching rockets tells you about their true political motives.
20:40Is this agreement reached in China similar to – any similarity to the 2022 Algeria
20:49broker deal?
20:50So I'm not going to look at – I can't tell you the exact text is the same as the
20:55exact text of that agreement, but there have been a number of agreements signed, not just
21:01that one, but going back all the way to 2010, 2011, where you've seen Hamas and Fatah
21:05sign similar so-called reconciliation agreements that ultimately have proven not to be worth
21:10the paper that they're written on – paper on which they're written.
21:13I hate when people finish a sentence in a preposition.
21:16I just did it.
21:17Go ahead, Gita.
21:18Thanks, Matt.
21:19The Islamic Republic of Iran has gone on another execution spree, and in the past month has
21:25executed a number of people.
21:27Isn't the State Department in default of the Massah Act, based on which you were supposed
21:34to designate some senior leadership of the Islamic Republic for violation of human rights?
21:42So we are actively implementing the law as passed by Congress and signed by the President.
21:49We do continue to enforce all of our sanctions on Israel – or I'm sorry, on Iran, a number
21:53which we have imposed for violations of human rights.
21:59And in terms of that specific law and the report that it calls for, we are actively
22:03working on the report and will submit it to Congress as soon as it's done.
22:06I would just note, kind of as a side note, that Congress does mandate a lot of reports
22:10for us to prepare, and never when they mandate those reports do they provide us additional
22:14appropriations to fund the writing of said reports.
22:17But we are working on it and we will have it up to them as soon as we have it completed.
22:19Well, for this purpose, you don't have to look very far.
22:22The individuals are out there.
22:24You don't have to dig too deep.
22:27So all I will say is that we continue to work on implementing the law and providing that
22:32report.
22:33And another one also relating to sanctions, since you also mentioned it.
22:39According to the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Agency, they have been exporting or selling
22:48heavy water and radiopharmaceuticals on the global market for a while now, nuclear services
22:54and goods.
22:55Isn't that in violation of sanctions?
22:58So I will have to take that back.
23:01I just don't want to – I don't want to make a legal sanctions violation judgment
23:05from here about what does and doesn't violate the sanctions.
23:08Obviously, you've heard us say before we've imposed over 600 sanctions and export controls.
23:12But with respect to any specific violation, let me take that back and look at it and get
23:15you an answer.
23:16Okay.
23:19Can I ask about the Russian and Chinese warplanes that were intercepted off the coast of Alaska?
23:23From your perspective, the diplomatic perspective, is it concerning to see this kind of cooperation?
23:28And has there been any kind of communication with your Russian or Chinese counterparts?
23:31So a few things about that.
23:33Number one, with respect to military cooperation between China and Russia, we have said for
23:38some time that we're concerned about the relationship between the two countries.
23:43We're concerned about the way that China continues to fuel Russia's war against Ukraine
23:48by Chinese companies taking steps to rebuild their defense industrial base.
23:55When it comes to this specific action, I believe off the coast of Alaska, I will defer to the
24:01Pentagon to comment on the details of it.
24:04But we did not assess that in any way it's a threat to the security of the United States.
24:07And I know you can't preview any actions, but especially with China supporting Russia's
24:13war on Ukraine, the Secretary of Defense said – replied that they're just going
24:16to watch and see what happens between those two countries.
24:19But is there any kind of consideration of the State Department for further action?
24:23There are a number of things that are under consideration.
24:27I will note that we have already imposed over 300 sanctions and export controls on Chinese
24:32entities for their support to Russia for the war against Ukraine.
24:37We will not hesitate to impose additional measures as necessary.
24:42And it's important to remember that this is not just an issue that concerns the United
24:46States, and it's certainly not an issue that just impacts the United States.
24:49It's a threat to European security, and so we have also been in conversations with
24:54our European partners about what actions they might take, and of course, they can speak
24:58to those.
24:59Go ahead.
25:00QUESTION.
25:02Back to what I asked the speech yesterday, following up on Said's question on foreign
25:07leader of a country who was speaking in front of Congress – American Congress criticizing
25:15American protesters who are mostly using their freedom of assembly, do you consider this
25:22as an interference in U.S. domestic affairs?
25:27MR PRICE No, it's not an – it's certainly not – I wouldn't call it interference
25:32in domestic affairs.
25:34The prime minister has the – look, he was invited by Congress.
25:37He has the right to come and speak his mind, say what he thinks.
25:41But by the same token, we have the right to speak ours, and we'll do that.
25:44QUESTION.
25:45But what was your reaction when you heard – when he said this at the American Congress?
25:49MR PRICE So I am going to – as I've always kind
25:52of made a rule not to just reply to specific things that the prime minister says.
25:58Ultimately, when we have concerns with him, we often take it up with him privately.
26:02But as I said, he is free to say what he wants about protests, and we will say what
26:08we believe.
26:09And I made clear what the United States believes about protests, which is that every American
26:12has the right to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights.
26:17We think it makes our country stronger.
26:19At the same time, we do condemn acts of hatred, acts of anti-Semitism, some of which we saw
26:25yesterday.
26:26QUESTION.
26:27Just a quick one more on that.
26:30On the international side of things, many people around the world were outraged by what
26:36we have seen yesterday.
26:38Netanyahu, who is accused of war crimes and genocides by international courts, spoke before
26:47the U.S. Congress and received more than 70 applause from U.S. Congress members.
26:53Are you aware of this, and have any countries expressed concern about this?
26:59MR.
27:00DEGORYERY So I would say that most, if not all, of
27:04the countries that we deal with are quite familiar with the separation of powers in
27:08the United States, understand that Congress is an independent branch and that this invitation
27:12was issued by Congress, not by the President or the executive branch.
27:16Yeah, go ahead.
27:17Michel.
27:18QUESTION.
27:19Two questions.
27:20First, personally, do you expect a ceasefire agreement soon?
27:22MR.
27:23DEGORYERY I don't want to put any kind of timetable
27:25on it, as I've been reluctant to do, really, since the outset of these discussions.
27:29QUESTION.
27:30Second, the UAE is more open now on discussing sending troops to Gaza.
27:35Do you have an agreement with them and other Arab states to send troops?
27:42MR.
27:43DEGORYERY So the question of how we ensure security
27:46in Gaza at the end of a conflict is something that we have been actively discussing with
27:51our Arab partners.
27:52The Secretary has made this clear during his travels in the region.
27:55It has been one of the leading topics of discussion when we've traveled around, and it's been
27:59one of the leading topics of discussion, especially with this core quint group that the Secretary
28:04assembled – Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
28:10We don't have any specific agreements yet on how security would be established, but
28:16we have been putting proposals forward.
28:19Our Arab partners have been putting proposals forward.
28:21We've been talking through what various countries might or might not be willing to
28:25do, what they would need from other parties to secure their agreement to participate,
28:35and those are ongoing conversations.
28:36QUESTION.
28:37Who are the other countries who are ready to send troops other than the U.S.?
28:40DEGORYERY So I didn't stipulate that any one country
28:41was ready to send troops.
28:43That was the stipulation of your question, not something I said from here.
28:45I'm certainly not going to speak for any country at all in the region.
28:48QUESTION.
28:50DEGORYERY Yeah.
28:51QUESTION.
28:52So thank you.
28:53Going back to Netanyahu's speech to Congress, actually.
28:56So Prime Minister said specifically with regards to Rafa, and I quote, practically no civilians
29:01killed in Rafa, and it got actually standing ovation from U.S. Congress.
29:06And you hear – I know it's different branches, State Department and Congress – and
29:10you hear acknowledging thousands of civilians, innocent civilians were killed by this – as
29:15a result of this military campaign.
29:17So I'm wondering, do you think your statements here and that Congress's reaction to Netanyahu's
29:22remarks – and it was a false claim verifiable by various respectable news organizations,
29:27including ones in the United States – sending maybe conflicting messages to the rest of
29:33the world with regards to what U.S. really wants and how it approaches to this conflict?
29:39MR PRICE So again, we don't speak for Congress and
29:43Congress doesn't speak for us.
29:46And I hope most people around the world would understand that and understand that we are
29:51a big democracy with people with a host of different views from all sides of the political
29:58spectrum.
29:59There are people inside the Congress, including people who were at the speech today, who strenuously
30:04support everything that Israel has done, and there are other members of Congress, including
30:08some, who are making their views known in the chamber, who strenuously oppose things
30:12that Israel does.
30:13That's what part – that's part of what being in a democracy does.
30:16I speak on behalf of the executive branch, and I'll continue to make our views known
30:20on policy matters.
30:21I'll continue to make our views known about the facts of what has happened in Gaza and
30:26where we ought to go from here.
30:28When it comes to civilian casualties in Rafah, of course there have been civilian casualties
30:32in Rafah.
30:34We have all seen verified reports of civilian casualties during the conflict there.
30:40Now, one thing that is true, the number of civilian casualties in the Rafah campaign
30:46is significantly lower than the number of human casualties in the campaign in Gaza City
30:52and in the campaign in Khan units.
30:54We think that's for a number of reasons.
30:55One of the reasons is that a number of people in Rafah evacuated sooner – or early in
31:04the campaign, before the campaign really began in earnest.
31:07Another of the reasons, we think, is that we were pushing Israel to execute a more limited
31:13campaign than what they did in Gaza City and what they did in Khan units, and they ultimately
31:17did that.
31:18But of course, there were still civilians that died in Rafah, and every civilian death
31:22is a tragedy.
31:23QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR And I understand you're speaking on behalf
31:25of the United States.
31:26So should I – when you are saying we are a weak democracy, different branches, so Congress's
31:30reaction to Netanyahu's speech, doesn't that represent what the United States want
31:36with regards to what Israel —
31:37MR PRICE So there are 535 members of Congress.
31:41They don't all have the same view.
31:43And each one of them has a vote and has a voice in what Congress does.
31:48And some of them share the views of the administration.
31:51Some of them don't, to put matters lightly.
31:56And they come from – they have all sorts of different views.
31:58So people, I think, when making assessments about what the United States believes, they've
32:03got to look at – when you make – you want to make an assessment about what the executive
32:07branch believes, you can look at what the President says, the Secretary says, and what
32:10I say.
32:11When you want to look to what Congress believes, you have to look at what they say but ultimately
32:16how they vote.
32:17QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Thank you.
32:18I wanted to ask, because the Turkish foreign minister just harshly criticized the U.S.
32:21Congress's reaction to Netanyahu.
32:23I wonder, since the ceasefire talks are ongoing, I wonder whether – do you find those maybe
32:28false claims made by Netanyahu towards Congress somehow troubling with regards to ceasefire
32:34talks?
32:35MR PRICE I don't assess that anything the prime minister
32:37said yesterday is going to have an impact on the ceasefire talks one way or the other.
32:40QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Thank you.
32:41MR PRICE Alex, go ahead.
32:42QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Thank you, Matt.
32:43I have several topics, but before that, let me follow up on the NAFTA Act, which I said,
32:47which is about sanctioning Iranian leadership for gross human rights violations.
32:50The other day, in response to Michel's question, in fact, on different occasion, you said that
32:55you believe Iranian supreme leader is in charge of decision-making process.
32:59Do you have any doubt in your mind that Iranian leaders are not – are responsible for the
33:06killing of Mosse and others?
33:08MR PRICE So obviously, the Government of Iran is responsible
33:13for all the actions that the regime takes.
33:15QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Why is the U.S. Government so reluctant to
33:18impose human rights sanctions on Iran's supreme leader?
33:21MR PRICE Alex, I love the – we have often – you
33:24and I have often tangled over this question when we've talked about it in the context
33:29of Russia, where you will often seize on one particular action that you wish that the United
33:34States would take and ignore the vast sea of other actions that we have taken.
33:39When it comes to Iran, we have imposed over 600 sanctions and export controls for Iran's
33:45behavior across a wide range of areas, including their support for terrorism, including their
33:52hostile actions to their neighbors, and of course, including for their brutal crackdown
33:56on human rights at home.
33:58And I think you can expect to see us continue to take those actions.
34:01But as you've also heard me say before, I'm never going to engage with you on one
34:04specific proposed sanction because we don't preview those in advance for, I think, very
34:07good reasons.
34:08QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR I mean, so it's not me.
34:09It's the law of the land.
34:10The U.S. Congress is asking the U.S. Government to take this action.
34:13Coming to Russia and Ukraine, so Romania has confirmed that more Russian drones showed
34:20up in its airspace, three Shahids only from last night.
34:24Does this require decisive action or response from NATO?
34:28MR.
34:29TONER So I'm not going to speak to that matter only
34:31because there is still an ongoing investigation into what exactly happened and how it might
34:36happen – how it might have happened, and I think it's not appropriate for me to comment
34:40on it in advance.
34:42So obviously, we fully support all of our NATO allies.
34:45The President has made that clear from the outset of this conflict and from the outset
34:49of the administration.
34:50QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Is there any discussion going behind this
34:52in between allies?
34:53MR.
34:54TONER I'm never going to talk about private-sector
34:55discussions.
34:56QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR I'm going to ask a question.
34:57MR.
34:58TONER Alex, I'm going to move on only because
34:59I got to leave in nine.
35:00QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Last topic.
35:01MR.
35:02TONER I have to leave in nine minutes?
35:03I see a number of people with their hands up.
35:04Go ahead.
35:05QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR Thank you so much.
35:06On student visas in Iranian schools are opening very soon, and there are so many Iranian students
35:11still waiting for their visas and clearances.
35:15Do you have any plans, any initiatives to expedite the process for these students?
35:21MR.
35:22TONER So let me just say that every year we welcome
35:25thousands of Iranian students to college campuses and universities.
35:30We have very strong disagreements with the leadership in Tehran, but we have no quarrel
35:38with the Iranian people who are the victims of repression and victims of the brutal tactics
35:44by the Iranian regime.
35:46Let me just say, there were – just as a factual matter – there were 10,000 Iranian
35:51students who studied in the United States during the last academic year, up 16 percent
35:57from the year before, all of whom we granted visas to, to come and study in the United
36:02States.
36:03We do expect those numbers to increase over time, but as I've said before when I've
36:09asked about similar matters, I think from Gita, actually, I can't speak to the specifics
36:13of any one visa case or really any category of visa cases, other than to say that every
36:19visa decision we make is a national security decision.
36:23Every prospective traveler has to go through – it wasn't studied this time.
36:28Somebody is displaying their Google directions to get the hell out of here.
36:32I don't know who that is.
36:36Every visa applicant has to undergo extensive security screening.
36:39We take that incredibly seriously.
36:41We go through a thorough process before granting visas to individual, but we think it's important
36:46to grant those visas as expeditiously as possible.
36:48And I think that's been shown by the fact that we have granted so many visas to Iranian
36:52students, a number that has increased, as I said, from the – two years ago to the
36:58previous year, and we expect to continue to increase.
37:01So the State Department is precisely in charge of this.
37:04You don't have any plans specifically for Iranian students so that they won't miss
37:10the deadlines?
37:11So as I just said, we have already seen the – let me say it a different way.
37:19The proof ultimately – I know you – we always get anecdotal cases that are put forward
37:24to us often in this briefing room, but the proof ultimately of how we're doing when
37:29it comes to looking at any matter can be in the data.
37:32And when you look at the data here, it shows that the number of students who have received
37:37visas from Iran has increased, and we expect it to continue to increase.
37:41Now, of course, that doesn't mean that every visa gets approved, and it certainly doesn't
37:45mean that every visa gets approved quickly, because sometimes they're just harder questions
37:50that we have to answer in doing our screening.
37:52But we do try to go through it as quickly as possible so we can get those visas approved.
37:56Yeah.
37:57Yeah.
37:59I have a separate topic on a journalist, Asu Kamysheva.
38:03Has her conviction brought the State Department closer to designating her as wrongfully detained?
38:13And do you think that designation would have make her conviction less likely?
38:19So first of all, it just has not been our experience in watching what Russia does that
38:25a wrongful determination – I'm sorry, a wrongful detention determination has any
38:29impact on the decisions that they make to charge and ultimately convict people.
38:36That's to answer the second part of the question.
38:40With respect to the determination itself, all I can say is that's a decision that
38:45– or it's a determination that remains ongoing inside the State Department, but that
38:51this is a case that we take incredibly seriously.
38:53The Secretary himself is engaged on this case and takes it incredibly seriously, and we
38:58want to see her released.
39:01Second question, quickly.
39:02With President Biden saying that he's not seeking re-election and with the two campaigns
39:10to replace him, that seems to have different world views.
39:15How much should the United States be worried that its international adversaries are taking
39:23advantage of the perceived weakness between now and January?
39:27So I would certainly, just as a message to any of those adversaries, that if they at
39:33all are trying – thinking of taking advantage of the upcoming political transition in the
39:38United States, which is still six months away, they should think again, and they should think
39:42– they should be disabused of the notion that we are anything but focused on the national
39:49security challenges that the country faces, and that includes responding to our adversaries
39:54when appropriate.
39:56The President has made incredibly clear to the Secretary and the rest of the national
40:00security team that he expects them to be focused for this next six months, that he expects
40:06them to advance the foreign policy objectives that he laid out from the outset of the administration
40:11and that we have put into place over the course of the last three and a half years.
40:15He wants them to continue to try to advance those objectives over the next six months,
40:19and that he doesn't want anyone to take their eye off the ball at all, and I can guarantee
40:23you that we will not.
40:24Yeah.
40:25QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
40:26On Sudan, the RSF has said it will participate in the talks in Switzerland in August.
40:30Have you gotten any response from the SAF?
40:32I do not have any update.
40:33As far as I'm aware, we have not yet gotten a response from the SAF.
40:37Go ahead.
40:38QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
40:39Thank you very much.
40:40One on Ukraine and one on Russia.
40:43The Ukrainian parliament is preparing to consider a bill prohibiting the Ukrainian Orthodox
40:49Church in August.
40:51Are you aware of the bill and do you have any comments?
40:53I don't have any comment on the bill, no.
40:55And my second question is about the Arctic – the new Arctic strategy unveiled on Monday
41:01by the Pentagon.
41:03The Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said that Russia asserts excessive claims
41:10in the Arctic.
41:11Do you agree with this assessment, and can you explain maybe why are they excessive?
41:17So I would – when it comes to an assessment made by the Pentagon, for any kind of detailed
41:22questions about that assessment, I would defer you to the Pentagon, who also holds a daily
41:26press briefing – or press briefing several times a week – to question in detail.
41:31But of course, we agree with the assessment made by the Pentagon.
41:33With that, I'm going to wrap for questions because I do have a plane to catch.
41:37But before I go, I just wanted to note that next week is the last week of our Director
41:42of Press Operations, Jennifer Williams.
41:44I'm not going to be here next week to note it because I'm going to be traveling with
41:47the Secretary, but I know all of you in the room have gotten to know her and seen what
41:52a great service she provides to the department and to her country.
41:57Indeed, truly one of the best public servants I have worked with in my time in government.
42:03A real credit to her profession and a real credit to the department.
42:08And I'm going to miss working with you very much, but I certainly wish you well in your
42:11next assignment.
42:12I know you will continue to make us all proud.
42:14So thank you.
42:15With that, thanks, everyone.