'Does Iran Have The Right To Defend Itself?': Patel Spars With Reporter After Death Of Hamas Leader

2 months ago

At a State Department press briefing on Wednesday, Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel was asked about the death of a Hamas leader in Iran.

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

00:00Now, you said – to understand clearly, you're saying that if Iran responds, the U.S. will

00:14be there to defend Israel, correct?

00:16MR RATHKE.

00:17What I am saying is that our commitment to Israel's security is ironclad, and of course

00:20part of that includes the defense of Israel in – as it – when it faces threats from

00:26malign actors like the Iranian regime.

00:29That is – should be no surprise to you, Said.

00:32So you often speak of the right of every nation to defend itself.

00:37Do you acknowledge that this was an Israeli aggression against Iran?

00:40I don't have any information for you, Said, on this incident or possible reactions and

00:45certainly don't have anything to offer as it relates to attribution and would let the

00:51Israelis speak to any operation of theirs that they may be undertaking.

00:56I don't have a perspective to offer from you.

00:57I mean, it seems that the whole world acknowledges that this was an Israeli aggression on the

01:02capital of Iran.

01:03But suppose, when you develop the proper information to say that Israel was behind this aggression

01:10on the Iranian capital, it is within Iran's right to defend itself?

01:14I'm not going to speculate on this, Said.

01:18I don't have an update or an assessment to offer for you as it relates to attribution,

01:23and so I will just leave it at that.

01:25Okay.

01:26Do you see Israel as a sovereign nation?

01:27Does Iran have the right to defend itself?

01:28Said, it's a simple question.

01:29Does Iran as a sovereign nation, as any other nation, does it have the right to defend itself?

01:37Iran is a regime that time and time again, since 1979, has won – been the largest and

01:45greatest exporter of terrorism, not just in the Middle East but broadly.

01:50And it has a clear track record of not just suppressing its own people but also funding

01:55and promoting, encouraging malign, destabilizing actions across the region.

02:02Okay.

02:03And our opinion and point of view on the Iranian regime is quite clear, and we will not hesitate

02:08to not just stand with our allies and partners when it comes to defending against threats

02:13from Iran, but also taking appropriate action from the United States as it stands.

02:17Okay.

02:18So you're saying that the nature of the Iranian regime strips it of the right to defend

02:23itself and to defend its sovereignty?

02:25I'm sorry.

02:26I just don't have any assessment to offer on this.

02:27Okay.

02:28No, you just said that.

02:29I don't have any assessment to offer on this incident.

02:30I don't have any assessment on attribution or anything.

02:31Okay.

02:32Let me ask you something.

'Does Iran Have The Right To Defend Itself?': Patel Spars With Reporter After Death Of Hamas Leader

Category

Transcript

Recommended