White House Refuses To Reiterate Netanyahu’s Labeling Of Protesters As ‘Iran’s Useful Idiots’

3 months ago

During Thursday’s White House press briefing, National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby was asked about President Biden’s actions on Iran during his remaining time in office and the protests against Israel.

Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:

https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript

Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00Admiral, two questions on Iran. How is POTUS Biden going to deal with Iran? I mean, which

00:06aspects of dealing with Iran is he going to prioritize in the next six months in office?

00:13And which one of them would he be recommending to be POTUS Harris if and when she gets to

00:19the White House again?

00:20And my second question —

00:21She's already at the White House. She's already a key partner in our foreign policy

00:24objectives.

00:25And the Commander-in-Chief?

00:26I would tell you that you're going to continue to see over the next six months the same focus

00:31by this administration and this team, which of course includes the Vice President, on

00:35holding Iran accountable for all their destabilizing activities — support to the Houthis, to

00:39Hezbollah, to Hamas, the merchant attacks that they're allowing the Houthis to continue

00:44to perpetrate, and that they're perpetrating themselves in the Gulf region, as well as

00:49their support to Russia and Russia's war in Ukraine. I could go on and on. We have

00:52sanctioned Iran some 600 different times just in the last three and a half years of

00:57this administration. We'll continue to hold them accountable. That will be a steady focus

01:01for the President.

01:02The Israeli prime minister yesterday labeled those part of the protesters as Iran's useful

01:08idiots. What is the administration's method of dealing with them? I mean, what is it?

01:16First of all, that's not a phrase we would use. As I mentioned, I think, to Peter's question,

01:21we know that Iran certainly has tried to meddle here. They've tried to sow discord.

01:25They've obviously contributed to some funding of some protesters. But I think to paint everybody

01:31with that brush is unfortunate and not an accurate reflection. Most of the protest activity

01:38here in the United States is peaceful. Most of it is – by the vast majority of it – is

01:43organic. It comes from people who have real concerns. And that's what a democracy is

01:47all about.

01:48And do you agree with the – with the prime minister's assertion that basically Israel

01:56is protecting U.S.? I mean, why – is it sort of an overt criticism from a leader of

02:04an ally? And what does U.S. need protection from an ally?

02:08I'm sorry, can you –

02:10Yeah. Well, he said when Israel fights Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthis, we are fighting Iran.

02:15When Israel acts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, we are not only protecting

02:20ourselves, we are protecting you. So why does the U.S. need protection from an ally? Isn't

02:25U.S. doing enough?

02:29It is clear that Israel and the United States share a concern about Iran's activities.

02:39And the prime minister's not wrong. When you – when you're going after groups like

02:44Hezbollah or Hamas in this case particularly, or when we together try to defend each other

02:51against the Houthi missiles and drones that continue to fly, that is also because of the

02:59proxy nature of it, also countering Iran's activities. I mean, together, that's what

03:04allies and partners do.

White House Refuses To Reiterate Netanyahu’s Labeling Of Protesters As ‘Iran’s Useful Idiots’

Category

Transcript

Recommended