WEBVTT 00:03.492 --> 00:04.540 - Well, hello. 00:04.540 --> 00:05.873 Nice to see you. 00:06.118 --> 00:07.285 Hi, everybody. 00:08.105 --> 00:09.605 How are you today? 00:10.459 --> 00:11.796 - [Matt] One day away from Friday. 00:11.796 --> 00:13.687 - One day away from Friday, can't wait. 00:13.687 --> 00:15.382 And then we're all going to be together next week, 00:15.382 --> 00:17.458 or at least a lot of us will, right? 00:17.458 --> 00:19.295 Looking forward to that. 00:19.295 --> 00:20.512 I'd like to start out today by 00:20.512 --> 00:24.262 mentioning the terror attack that took place, 00:25.400 --> 00:27.325 got a little bit of an echo in here, 00:27.325 --> 00:29.262 terror attack that took place in Iraq, 00:29.262 --> 00:30.502 and we'd like to condemn that 00:30.502 --> 00:32.192 in the strongest possible terms, 00:32.192 --> 00:35.748 the barbaric attacks that took place in Nasiriyah, Iraq. 00:35.748 --> 00:38.288 They've been claimed by ISIS, the attacks have. 00:38.288 --> 00:40.806 The brutal attacks demonstrate, once again, 00:40.806 --> 00:44.656 the savagery of the enemy that so many of our nations face. 00:44.656 --> 00:46.308 We want to extend our deepest condolences 00:46.308 --> 00:47.626 to the families of the victims 00:47.626 --> 00:48.996 and hope for a speedy recovery 00:48.996 --> 00:50.547 for those who've been wounded. 00:50.547 --> 00:52.581 The attacks are a reminder that all Iraqis 00:52.581 --> 00:55.748 must remain focused on defeating ISIS. 00:56.156 --> 00:57.625 The U.S. reaffirms its commitment 00:57.625 --> 00:59.566 to support the government and the people of Iraq 00:59.566 --> 01:02.149 in their struggle against ISIS. 01:02.156 --> 01:05.838 The second thing I'd like to announce is the democracy, 01:05.838 --> 01:07.600 Community of Democracies ministerial, 01:07.600 --> 01:10.008 which will take place here in Washington tomorrow. 01:10.008 --> 01:11.748 I know there was a little bit of reporting on that 01:11.748 --> 01:14.781 earlier in the year, but that will, in fact, happen. 01:14.781 --> 01:16.133 Secretary Tillerson will host 01:16.133 --> 01:17.878 the ninth Community of Democracies 01:17.878 --> 01:19.409 Governing Council Ministerial 01:19.409 --> 01:21.153 here at the Department of State tomorrow. 01:21.153 --> 01:22.972 The United States is hosting this ministerial 01:22.972 --> 01:25.288 as we complete our two-year presidency 01:25.288 --> 01:27.188 of the Community of Democracies 01:27.188 --> 01:29.529 and will bring together more than 90 governments 01:29.529 --> 01:31.163 and more than 50 representatives 01:31.163 --> 01:33.451 from civil society groups around the world. 01:33.451 --> 01:35.616 The ministerial will focus on current challenges 01:35.616 --> 01:37.348 and the enduring connection 01:37.348 --> 01:40.170 between democratic principles and economic development. 01:40.170 --> 01:42.067 Participants will also discuss strategies 01:42.067 --> 01:45.229 to counter authoritarian actions by countries, 01:45.229 --> 01:47.215 including North Korea and Iran, 01:47.215 --> 01:48.842 and will seek to condemn the ongoing 01:48.842 --> 01:51.076 human rights abuses in Venezuela. 01:51.076 --> 01:53.367 They will also consider ways to support civil society 01:53.367 --> 01:55.155 that is under threat around the world 01:55.155 --> 01:57.605 and share lessons learned in countering terrorism 01:57.605 --> 01:59.834 while still protecting human rights. 01:59.834 --> 02:01.155 In hosting the ministerial, 02:01.155 --> 02:03.488 the United States affirms that standing up for human rights 02:03.488 --> 02:05.864 and democracy is both a moral imperative, 02:05.864 --> 02:08.183 grounded in the best traditions of our country, 02:08.183 --> 02:11.855 and a strategic priority vital to our national interests. 02:11.855 --> 02:14.091 We will continue to work with members of civil society 02:14.091 --> 02:15.704 and our partners worldwide 02:15.704 --> 02:17.417 to strengthen democratic governance, 02:17.417 --> 02:18.938 promote the rule of law, 02:18.938 --> 02:22.105 and defend individual liberty for all. 02:22.874 --> 02:25.262 - [Reporter] This is the Community of Democracies 02:25.262 --> 02:27.553 that Secretary Tillerson didn't want to have, right? 02:27.553 --> 02:29.126 - This is the Community of Democracies 02:29.126 --> 02:31.866 that some reporters wrote about that wasn't happening, 02:31.866 --> 02:33.807 and it is certainly happening. 02:33.807 --> 02:35.370 We've got it going. 02:35.370 --> 02:37.641 It's not as long as it has been in years past, 02:37.641 --> 02:40.267 but we have it, and we're proud to host that. 02:40.267 --> 02:41.714 A couple more things I'd like to address 02:41.714 --> 02:44.297 before I get to your questions. 02:44.721 --> 02:46.471 The U.S. State Department is pleased to announce 02:46.471 --> 02:48.997 a groundbreaking $25 million award 02:48.997 --> 02:51.955 to the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery. 02:51.955 --> 02:53.739 It's a transformational three-year program 02:53.739 --> 02:56.639 with a goal to reduce the prevalence of modern slavery, 02:56.639 --> 02:58.964 human trafficking in specific countries 02:58.964 --> 03:00.570 or regions around the world. 03:00.570 --> 03:02.171 The State Department would like to thank Congress 03:02.171 --> 03:03.677 for its support and in particular 03:03.677 --> 03:05.815 the leadership of Senator Bob Corker, 03:05.815 --> 03:07.953 who's championed this effort. 03:07.953 --> 03:09.443 The initiative reflects the United States 03:09.443 --> 03:11.289 broad and bipartisan commitment 03:11.289 --> 03:13.226 to increase U.S. and global funding 03:13.226 --> 03:16.494 to reduce the prevalence of modern slavery globally. 03:16.494 --> 03:18.254 Its goal is to leverage U.S. funds 03:18.254 --> 03:20.943 to build a significant resource base with contributions 03:20.943 --> 03:22.887 from other governments and private donors 03:22.887 --> 03:25.648 and develop a global platform of data, analysis, 03:25.648 --> 03:27.146 and lessons learned to inform 03:27.146 --> 03:31.033 and improve global efforts to combat modern slavery. 03:31.033 --> 03:33.398 Reducing the prevalence of human trafficking globally 03:33.398 --> 03:35.379 should be a joint effort with other governments 03:35.379 --> 03:37.154 and civil society around the world. 03:37.154 --> 03:38.805 The initiative will seek to raise commitments 03:38.805 --> 03:42.555 of $1.5 billion in support from other donors. 03:42.701 --> 03:43.964 The funds will be used to combat 03:43.964 --> 03:45.620 all forms of modern slavery 03:45.620 --> 03:47.174 that align with the three Ps 03:47.174 --> 03:50.047 of the global anti-trafficking framework: 03:50.047 --> 03:52.773 prosecution, protection, and prevention. 03:52.773 --> 03:54.456 At the same time, the program will ensure that 03:54.456 --> 03:56.383 survivor voices are integrated throughout 03:56.383 --> 03:59.047 the project design and implementation. 03:59.047 --> 04:00.944 And then finally, a note about 04:00.944 --> 04:03.777 the UN General Assembly next week. 04:04.153 --> 04:06.143 As you know, it will be high-level week 04:06.143 --> 04:09.614 for the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly. 04:09.614 --> 04:11.094 It opened on Tuesday, 04:11.094 --> 04:13.029 and I'd like to start off by letting you know 04:13.029 --> 04:14.932 that Secretary Tillerson and the department 04:14.932 --> 04:17.456 have identified a few key goals 04:17.456 --> 04:20.432 for our engagement with the international community. 04:20.432 --> 04:22.605 We have five overarching priorities this year. 04:22.605 --> 04:25.818 The first is taking bold steps on UN reform, 04:25.818 --> 04:28.504 the second, broadening multilateral 04:28.504 --> 04:31.066 and counterterrorism efforts to defeat ISIS 04:31.066 --> 04:33.172 and other terror organizations, 04:33.172 --> 04:35.879 humanitarian assistance, in particular for refugees 04:35.879 --> 04:37.698 and the communities that host them, 04:37.698 --> 04:39.455 de-escalating the Syrian conflict, 04:39.455 --> 04:42.383 and finally, addressing the threat to global peace 04:42.383 --> 04:45.001 and security posed by North Korea. 04:45.001 --> 04:48.008 The State delegation will be led by Secretary Tillerson. 04:48.008 --> 04:49.241 He will be joining the President 04:49.241 --> 04:51.320 and other senior leadership from the White House, 04:51.320 --> 04:55.187 the State Department, and USAID Administrator Mark Green 04:55.187 --> 04:58.877 will join us, as will participants from other agencies. 04:58.877 --> 05:00.966 On the larger question related to the President's schedule 05:00.966 --> 05:02.472 and high-level events during the week, 05:02.472 --> 05:04.115 I will ask you to hold off 05:04.115 --> 05:07.735 on some of your additional questions for the White House. 05:07.735 --> 05:10.076 They will be announcing part of the schedule 05:10.076 --> 05:12.331 in conjunction with Ambassador Haley 05:12.331 --> 05:14.550 and also National Security Advisor McMaster. 05:14.550 --> 05:17.877 They will talk about that at the White House tomorrow. 05:17.877 --> 05:19.501 And with that, I will take your questions. 05:19.501 --> 05:20.334 - Right. 05:21.159 --> 05:22.670 Speaking of the White House, 05:22.670 --> 05:26.502 since they have not yet, and apparently may not now, 05:26.502 --> 05:30.669 put their names to the sanctions waiver extension that were, 05:33.662 --> 05:35.651 extensions that were granted to Iran today, 05:35.651 --> 05:37.818 could you talk about that? 05:38.195 --> 05:41.612 - Sure, so the Secretary in London today, 05:42.162 --> 05:45.995 and he made an announcement a couple hours ago 05:46.079 --> 05:48.081 in which he started talking about that. 05:48.081 --> 05:51.581 So I want to first, in case you missed it, 05:53.327 --> 05:56.994 cover some of what the Secretary had to say. 06:00.594 --> 06:02.927 And he laid that out saying, 06:03.313 --> 06:04.691 reminding us that, first of all, 06:04.691 --> 06:07.654 the Iran policy review is still underway. 06:07.654 --> 06:11.321 So while that is ongoing, we had a deadline. 06:11.913 --> 06:13.163 That was today. 06:13.343 --> 06:15.369 "The Trump administration is continuing to review 06:15.369 --> 06:18.134 "and develop its policy on Iran," said the Secretary. 06:18.134 --> 06:19.157 It is still underway. 06:19.157 --> 06:21.877 There have been several discussions internally 06:21.877 --> 06:23.485 among the NSC, the White House, 06:23.485 --> 06:24.832 and also the State Department, 06:24.832 --> 06:27.124 but no decisions have been made just yet. 06:27.124 --> 06:28.490 He said, "I think it's worth noting that 06:28.490 --> 06:31.719 "the administration continues" to review the JCPOA 06:31.719 --> 06:32.997 and that President Trump has 06:32.997 --> 06:35.862 "made clear to those of us who are helping him 06:35.862 --> 06:38.340 "develop this policy that we must take into account 06:38.340 --> 06:40.253 "the totality of Iranian threats, 06:40.253 --> 06:42.527 "not just Iran's nuclear capabilities, 06:42.527 --> 06:44.761 "that is one piece of our posture toward Iran." 06:44.761 --> 06:48.226 And I think if one revisits the preface to the JCPOA, 06:48.226 --> 06:50.550 the preface needs, reads this, 06:50.550 --> 06:53.967 and we have talked about this here a lot, 06:55.152 --> 06:57.664 that Iran would need to contribute positively 06:57.664 --> 06:59.810 to international peace and security. 06:59.810 --> 07:02.296 So the Secretary spoke to that a short while ago. 07:02.296 --> 07:05.127 Overall, in terms of the overall administration, 07:05.127 --> 07:06.610 we did a lot today. 07:06.610 --> 07:09.216 The administration enacted tough new Treasury sanctions 07:09.216 --> 07:12.216 against 11 entities and individuals, 07:12.294 --> 07:14.975 some of whom, or some of those entities 07:14.975 --> 07:17.435 were responsible for cyber attacks 07:17.435 --> 07:19.136 on U.S. financial institutions. 07:19.136 --> 07:20.682 The Department of Treasury has more information 07:20.682 --> 07:23.265 about those specific sanctions. 07:23.643 --> 07:25.618 But the point is that we continue to look 07:25.618 --> 07:27.294 at some of the reckless, 07:27.294 --> 07:30.248 malign behavior of the Iranian regime. 07:30.248 --> 07:31.685 I want to continue to point that out. 07:31.685 --> 07:33.061 That's one of the reasons that we are here 07:33.061 --> 07:34.640 talking about this. 07:34.640 --> 07:35.776 We consider it to be reckless. 07:35.776 --> 07:37.908 We consider it to be dangerous. 07:37.908 --> 07:40.587 And I think it's always worth reminding folks 07:40.587 --> 07:43.587 just how bad that government can be, 07:44.724 --> 07:46.613 not the people, the government. 07:46.613 --> 07:49.024 A full range of their malign activities, 07:49.024 --> 07:50.099 let's remember what it includes: 07:50.099 --> 07:51.660 ballistic missile development, 07:51.660 --> 07:54.138 material and financial support for terrorism 07:54.138 --> 07:57.422 and also extremism, not just within their own country 07:57.422 --> 07:58.724 but around the globe, 07:58.724 --> 08:02.300 complicity in the Assad regime's atrocities 08:02.300 --> 08:03.925 against the Syrian people, 08:03.925 --> 08:06.685 an unrelenting hostility to Israel, 08:06.685 --> 08:09.249 consistently threatening freedom of navigation, 08:09.249 --> 08:11.803 especially in the Persian Gulf, we have seen that, 08:11.803 --> 08:14.828 as our, have, have our U.S. Navy sailors, 08:14.828 --> 08:17.038 cyber attacks against the United States, 08:17.038 --> 08:19.838 ergo the sanctions today, human rights abuses, 08:19.838 --> 08:23.534 arbitrary detention of foreigners, including U.S. citizens. 08:23.534 --> 08:25.879 The Iran policy from this administration 08:25.879 --> 08:27.589 will address the totality 08:27.589 --> 08:30.412 of what the Iranian regime is doing. 08:30.412 --> 08:34.159 I mentioned the 11 new entities that were sanctioned. 08:34.159 --> 08:35.594 In addition to that, and I know that this is 08:35.594 --> 08:38.115 what you're most interested in perhaps, Matt, 08:38.115 --> 08:39.668 the administration did approve waivers 08:39.668 --> 08:41.992 in order to maintain some flexibility 08:41.992 --> 08:43.659 as we support on Capitol Hill 08:43.659 --> 08:45.275 and among allies and partners 08:45.275 --> 08:47.785 to address the flaws in the JCPOA 08:47.785 --> 08:49.773 and additional time to develop our policy 08:49.773 --> 08:53.934 to address the full range of Iranian malign behavior. 08:53.934 --> 08:55.577 Now, waiving some of those sanctions 08:55.577 --> 08:57.209 should not be seen as an indication 08:57.209 --> 08:59.917 of President Trump or his administration's position 08:59.917 --> 09:03.499 on the JCPOA, nor is the waiver giving the Iranian regime 09:03.499 --> 09:06.793 a pass on its broad range of malign behavior. 09:06.793 --> 09:08.284 Again, no decisions have been made 09:08.284 --> 09:09.867 on the final JCPOA. 09:10.131 --> 09:12.108 We still have some time for that. 09:12.108 --> 09:14.176 - That's all very nice, and it was, what was that, 09:14.176 --> 09:16.136 about a five-minute response? 09:16.136 --> 09:17.232 - [Heather] Excuse me. 09:17.232 --> 09:18.169 - No, it's all right. 09:18.169 --> 09:21.052 But I'm just wondering why you feel the need 09:21.052 --> 09:23.972 or the obligation to go through the litany of complaints 09:23.972 --> 09:27.593 before getting to the, getting to the actual answer 09:27.593 --> 09:30.511 and the interesting, the most interesting news of the day? 09:30.511 --> 09:32.962 - I think it's always important to remind the world, okay. 09:32.962 --> 09:34.734 And we've talked here quite a bit. 09:34.734 --> 09:37.651 The JCPOA covers a certain section, 09:38.124 --> 09:41.631 okay, of activities that Iran is responsible for, 09:41.631 --> 09:43.893 and that is to try to contain its nuclear program. 09:43.893 --> 09:45.226 If I may finish. 09:45.533 --> 09:49.090 There are a lot of things that the JCPOA does not handle, 09:49.090 --> 09:50.762 does not mention, and that is a concern 09:50.762 --> 09:53.679 of this administration that we feel 09:54.044 --> 09:55.266 is important to highlight. 09:55.266 --> 09:57.542 There have been many years in the past 09:57.542 --> 09:59.945 in which you didn't hear a lot about the bad things 09:59.945 --> 10:01.528 that Iran has done. 10:01.748 --> 10:05.831 Many would argue that since the JCPOA was signed, 10:06.083 --> 10:09.717 and I'm not making the JCPOA responsible for this, 10:09.717 --> 10:13.387 but Iran has upped its bad behavior in many instances. 10:13.387 --> 10:15.296 We've seen the harassment of our sailors. 10:15.296 --> 10:17.408 We've seen what they've done in Syria. 10:17.408 --> 10:21.081 We've seen Hizballah going into Syria causing more problems. 10:21.081 --> 10:24.471 We've seen Iran continuing to supply weapons 10:24.471 --> 10:26.554 to other fighting forces. 10:26.894 --> 10:29.104 They are doing a whole lot of bad things, 10:29.104 --> 10:32.413 and I think it's also worth reminding the American public, 10:32.413 --> 10:34.350 folks watching, folks listening, 10:34.350 --> 10:36.458 folks who read your newspapers and publications, 10:36.458 --> 10:38.794 exactly why we are here at this point, 10:38.794 --> 10:42.421 exactly why there are concerns about the JCPOA, 10:42.421 --> 10:45.697 and why we're looking at our Iran policy in totality. 10:45.697 --> 10:46.961 Because the fact of the matter is 10:46.961 --> 10:50.177 Iran is about a lot more, the Iranian Government, 10:50.177 --> 10:52.166 I should say, is about a lot more 10:52.166 --> 10:53.701 than this nuclear program. 10:53.701 --> 10:54.873 They're doing a lot of bad things, 10:54.873 --> 10:56.250 and we want to address and highlight those things. 10:56.250 --> 10:57.384 - Heather, just to be clear on one thing. 10:57.384 --> 10:58.237 May I follow up? 10:58.237 --> 11:00.729 You talked about how we waived some sanctions. 11:00.729 --> 11:02.228 Can you be precise? 11:02.228 --> 11:05.561 Are the sanctions that were waived today 11:05.707 --> 11:09.540 the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 11:09.610 --> 11:11.527 Section 1245 sanctions? 11:11.696 --> 11:13.680 And were there any others other than those? 11:13.680 --> 11:14.911 - I'm not aware of that. 11:14.911 --> 11:16.248 - [Reporter] So you're not aware of what? 11:16.248 --> 11:17.828 - I'm not aware if there were any others. 11:17.828 --> 11:18.892 - But it was those? 11:18.892 --> 11:20.428 - I don't, I don't have that information 11:20.428 --> 11:21.261 in front of me right now. 11:21.261 --> 11:22.806 - So you don't know what sanctions were waived? 11:22.806 --> 11:23.986 - I know that some sanctions were waived. 11:23.986 --> 11:25.481 I don't have that specific information 11:25.481 --> 11:27.008 in front of me at this time. 11:27.008 --> 11:29.178 - Can you take that and put it out for everybody 11:29.178 --> 11:30.907 so that everybody knows what sanctions were waived? 11:30.907 --> 11:32.052 - I will look, I will see if I, 11:32.052 --> 11:33.763 I will look and I will see if I can get that for you. 11:33.763 --> 11:34.596 - Thank you. - Thanks. 11:34.596 --> 11:35.429 - I understand what you're saying about 11:35.429 --> 11:39.456 Iran's other behavior being, needed to be highlighted, 11:39.456 --> 11:42.511 but what do you say to those who charge 11:42.511 --> 11:44.877 that you're moving the goal posts 11:44.877 --> 11:47.460 on the actual criteria for Iran 11:47.680 --> 11:51.847 to be in technical compliance of the actual JCPOA? 11:54.156 --> 11:56.083 - I don't think that's the case at all. 11:56.083 --> 11:59.000 I mean, in the preface to the JCPOA 11:59.933 --> 12:03.697 it talks about what Iran's responsibilities are for that. 12:03.697 --> 12:05.488 And that's why when we look at this, 12:05.488 --> 12:08.655 we say that Iran is not in compliance, 12:08.755 --> 12:10.521 not in compliance with the spirit of the law. 12:10.521 --> 12:11.974 And we've talked about that extensively. 12:11.974 --> 12:13.118 (reporters chatter) 12:13.118 --> 12:14.435 Okay, okay, hold on, settle-- 12:14.435 --> 12:15.268 - Well, but does the-- - Hold on. 12:15.268 --> 12:16.361 - Does the deal itself-- - Go ahead. 12:16.361 --> 12:18.143 - Does the deal itself call for Iran 12:18.143 --> 12:22.143 to be in compliance of the spirit or the letter? 12:23.043 --> 12:24.756 - We have talked about how we believe that Iran 12:24.756 --> 12:27.664 is not in compliance with the spirit of the law, okay. 12:27.664 --> 12:28.684 - No, I understand that. - Yeah. 12:28.684 --> 12:32.150 - But in terms of, like, certifying or not certifying, 12:32.150 --> 12:34.649 so, in fact, do you feel that you could certify 12:34.649 --> 12:37.400 that Iran is not in compliance because of the spirit 12:37.400 --> 12:39.467 as opposed to the legal letter of the law? 12:39.467 --> 12:42.050 - Last I checked, we have until 12:42.715 --> 12:45.377 October the 15th to handle that. 12:45.377 --> 12:46.609 - Well, you're certainly kind of, 12:46.609 --> 12:48.464 between now and then, like, it does seem as if-- 12:48.464 --> 12:50.018 - Well, look, and I'm not going to get ahead of that. 12:50.018 --> 12:52.076 I'm just not going to get ahead of where we end up. 12:52.076 --> 12:53.434 All of this is under review. 12:53.434 --> 12:55.484 I think the Secretary was clear about that today. 12:55.484 --> 12:57.205 The administration has spoken about this. 12:57.205 --> 12:58.403 It's all under review, 12:58.403 --> 13:00.552 and so I'm not going to get ahead of what, 13:00.552 --> 13:02.778 of what's going to happen in the end in that review. 13:02.778 --> 13:04.362 - [Betsy] Heather, Heather, my publication and others 13:04.362 --> 13:06.649 have reported today that there's a U.S.-- 13:06.649 --> 13:07.482 - I'm sorry, you're with-- 13:07.482 --> 13:08.548 - [Betsy] Betsy Woodruff with The Daily Beast. 13:08.548 --> 13:09.800 - Hi to you, hi, Betsy. 13:09.800 --> 13:10.633 - [Betsy] Nice to see you. 13:10.633 --> 13:11.953 Thanks for a first-time, a first-time visit. 13:11.953 --> 13:13.498 - Oh. Well, welcome. - I've been a longtime viewer. 13:13.498 --> 13:15.629 My publication and others have reported today 13:15.629 --> 13:17.988 that there's a U.S. citizen who was recently apprehended, 13:17.988 --> 13:20.291 in custody of U.S. troops, who was fighting alongside ISIS. 13:20.291 --> 13:22.056 - Hold on. Hold on. - Can we stay with Iran? 13:22.056 --> 13:23.217 - Betsy, we're going to stay with Iran first, 13:23.217 --> 13:24.111 and then we'll move on to that. 13:24.111 --> 13:25.175 Okay, thank you. 13:25.175 --> 13:26.285 - Can I just ask-- - Okay, hold on. 13:26.285 --> 13:29.196 - You made an allusion to or a reference 13:29.196 --> 13:30.828 to the fact that you, 13:30.828 --> 13:33.599 that over the course of the past couple of years 13:33.599 --> 13:37.575 there hasn't been much talk about Iran's bad behavior. 13:37.575 --> 13:40.304 - I think in the view of many in this administration 13:40.304 --> 13:43.410 that we haven't highlighted as a U.S. Government, 13:43.410 --> 13:45.674 if you were to ask anyone in our U.S. military, 13:45.674 --> 13:47.886 I'm pretty sure that they would agree with this as well. 13:47.886 --> 13:50.394 All of the bad things that Iran has done, 13:50.394 --> 13:51.549 think of the U.S. forces, 13:51.549 --> 13:54.049 the U.S. troops that have been killed in Iraq 13:54.049 --> 13:55.800 by Iranian-led militia. 13:55.800 --> 13:56.846 Think of that. 13:56.846 --> 13:57.874 We haven't talked about that. 13:57.874 --> 14:00.635 We haven't addressed that a lot as a U.S. Government. 14:00.635 --> 14:02.002 And now, under this administration, 14:02.002 --> 14:03.600 that's something we want to put a focus on 14:03.600 --> 14:05.568 some of the bad things that Iran has done, 14:05.568 --> 14:08.914 and not just keep our relationship or our conversations 14:08.914 --> 14:11.833 about Iran related to the nuclear activities. 14:11.833 --> 14:14.628 They're responsible for a whole lot 14:14.628 --> 14:16.207 more bad activity around the world. 14:16.207 --> 14:17.040 - I get that. 14:17.040 --> 14:19.857 But the suggestion was that the previous administration 14:19.857 --> 14:23.325 didn't call out Iran for ballistic missile tests 14:23.325 --> 14:26.713 or its anti-Israel stance or support for Hizballah 14:26.713 --> 14:27.583 or support for Assad. 14:27.583 --> 14:30.370 - I think many in this administration would view 14:30.370 --> 14:32.278 that the previous administration, 14:32.278 --> 14:33.563 and I don't talk about that a lot, 14:33.563 --> 14:35.315 but the previous administration did not do enough 14:35.315 --> 14:37.808 to highlight and make the American public 14:37.808 --> 14:39.669 and folks around the world aware 14:39.669 --> 14:42.421 of just how bad the Iranian regime is 14:42.421 --> 14:44.580 and the horrible things that they've done to people, 14:44.580 --> 14:46.306 including our U.S. military. 14:46.306 --> 14:49.943 - Okay, because I and others have sat in here 14:49.943 --> 14:52.162 over the course of the last eight years, 14:52.162 --> 14:54.133 in some cases even longer, 14:54.133 --> 14:57.222 and that's, many in the administration 14:57.222 --> 14:59.067 might not think that the previous one 14:59.067 --> 15:01.605 was talking about Iran's behavior, 15:01.605 --> 15:03.690 but you can go back and look at transcripts 15:03.690 --> 15:07.079 of your predecessors talking about malign Iranian behavior 15:07.079 --> 15:09.351 outside of the nuclear arena. 15:09.351 --> 15:11.178 So I just want to, just because many people 15:11.178 --> 15:12.360 in this current administration 15:12.360 --> 15:14.897 don't think that the previous administration 15:14.897 --> 15:18.322 talked about it, that's not entirely the case. 15:18.322 --> 15:19.680 - Well, perhaps next time I bring it up then, Matt, 15:19.680 --> 15:22.015 you won't kind of turn up your nose at it, 15:22.015 --> 15:22.848 because it is an important fact that-- 15:22.848 --> 15:23.681 - [Matt] I'm not turning my nose up at it, 15:23.681 --> 15:24.514 I just think that-- 15:24.514 --> 15:26.087 - That people need to be made aware of, okay. 15:26.087 --> 15:28.569 A few more questions on Iran, and then we'll move on. 15:28.569 --> 15:31.569 (reporters chatter) 15:31.687 --> 15:32.864 Go ahead, Said, go right ahead. 15:32.864 --> 15:34.355 - Thank you, the list that you laid out 15:34.355 --> 15:35.410 is really a long list. 15:35.410 --> 15:38.138 Is it conceivable that Iran can actually adjust 15:38.138 --> 15:42.305 to these demands without having a total regime change? 15:43.026 --> 15:46.893 - Our issue is with, our-- - I understand, I understand. 15:46.893 --> 15:48.124 - The Secretary addressed-- 15:48.124 --> 15:49.170 - [Said] Your issue is with the government 15:49.170 --> 15:50.512 and not the people, and that's what I'm saying. 15:50.512 --> 15:53.211 - The Secretary addressed his election, his re-election, 15:53.211 --> 15:55.224 and one of the things he said about that 15:55.224 --> 15:58.057 is that we have a new opportunity. 15:58.064 --> 16:02.231 And if he chooses to change the way that he handles 16:02.998 --> 16:05.376 some of the activities of his government, 16:05.376 --> 16:06.629 we would certainly welcome that. 16:06.629 --> 16:07.612 It's a new opportunity. 16:07.612 --> 16:09.369 - Will the Secretary meet on the margins 16:09.369 --> 16:13.426 of the General Assembly with the Foreign Minister Zarif? 16:13.426 --> 16:15.634 - I don't have a schedule for the Secretary's... 16:15.634 --> 16:16.467 - [Said] Could it happen? 16:16.467 --> 16:18.177 - I don't have a schedule for 16:18.177 --> 16:20.531 the Secretary's sideline meetings. 16:20.531 --> 16:22.972 One-on-one meetings, that is highly doubtful. 16:22.972 --> 16:25.032 I'm not aware of anything like that that would occur, okay. 16:25.032 --> 16:27.035 - Can I ask you in London earlier today, 16:27.035 --> 16:31.047 the Secretary said that Iran was clearly in default 16:31.047 --> 16:35.214 of the preface, he quoted the preface of the JCPOA. 16:35.992 --> 16:39.253 So, I mean, you also were saying that the administration 16:39.253 --> 16:41.347 has not made a decision yet. 16:41.347 --> 16:42.521 Can you clear that up? 16:42.521 --> 16:45.828 Does the State Department believe that being in default 16:45.828 --> 16:47.760 of the preface of the JCPOA 16:47.760 --> 16:51.803 does not constitute being in default of the JCPOA? 16:51.803 --> 16:53.303 - Look, the JCPOA, 16:55.816 --> 16:59.585 and the deadline for that is October 15th, okay. 16:59.585 --> 17:00.952 So we have that time, okay. 17:00.952 --> 17:03.568 I'm not going to get ahead of where we're going to end up 17:03.568 --> 17:06.485 standing on the JCPOA at this time. 17:06.684 --> 17:10.351 The Secretary talked about, under the JCPOA, 17:11.091 --> 17:13.036 Iran is supposed to positively contribute 17:13.036 --> 17:15.675 to regional and international peace and security. 17:15.675 --> 17:17.626 I think we've been clear that we believe 17:17.626 --> 17:19.487 that they're in default of, excuse me, 17:19.487 --> 17:23.654 that they are not in compliance with the spirit of that, 17:24.361 --> 17:25.395 and I'll just leave it at that. 17:25.395 --> 17:27.749 - But I mean, just one quick follow-up. 17:27.749 --> 17:29.582 - [Heather] I'm sorry. 17:29.618 --> 17:33.785 - Not asking you to get ahead of it but he did say in that, 17:33.792 --> 17:36.727 in those remarks that they are in default 17:36.727 --> 17:40.227 of the sentence of the preface, the JCPOA. 17:41.173 --> 17:42.006 - [Heather] Okay. 17:42.006 --> 17:43.945 - So how does that not constitute a determination 17:43.945 --> 17:45.582 that they're in default? 17:45.582 --> 17:49.138 - I think he said not in default of these expectations, 17:49.138 --> 17:53.305 and he said that immediately after he spoke about how, 17:53.862 --> 17:57.226 under the JCPOA, Iran is supposed to positively contribute 17:57.226 --> 18:01.309 to regional and international peace and security. 18:01.328 --> 18:03.011 Saying that they are in default of that, 18:03.011 --> 18:06.374 because of all of the other things that they're doing, 18:06.374 --> 18:07.831 is not inconsistent. 18:07.831 --> 18:09.943 - So can I ask about the-- - Can we go to that-- 18:09.943 --> 18:11.475 - Excuse me, Mr. Arshad in the first row, 18:11.475 --> 18:12.416 could you just hold on please? 18:12.416 --> 18:13.693 - [Arshad] Okay, can we go to, it's on the preface, though. 18:13.693 --> 18:16.305 - Excuse me, I'm taking the Guardian's question first, okay? 18:16.305 --> 18:17.165 - [Arshad] By all means, by all means. 18:17.165 --> 18:17.998 - Let's wait our turn, please. 18:17.998 --> 18:18.831 Go right ahead, sir. 18:18.831 --> 18:21.875 - Yeah, in the preamble, it says that the signatories 18:21.875 --> 18:25.073 anticipate that the deal would contribute 18:25.073 --> 18:27.986 to the peace and security of the regime, 18:27.986 --> 18:31.279 not that the individual signatories would do it. 18:31.279 --> 18:33.458 So it was an expectation doing the deal 18:33.458 --> 18:35.541 would make things better. 18:35.926 --> 18:39.926 How can it be said that Iran, that that somehow, 18:41.306 --> 18:44.723 Iran is in default of the spirit of that? 18:45.076 --> 18:45.956 I don't understand. 18:45.956 --> 18:48.883 - I think the malign activities speak for themselves. 18:48.883 --> 18:50.957 Okay, now I would be happy to take your question. 18:50.957 --> 18:51.908 Hi, how are you? 18:51.908 --> 18:52.935 - My question is very similar. 18:52.935 --> 18:54.208 I mean, the language actually says 18:54.208 --> 18:58.375 "they anticipate that full implementation of this JCPOA 18:59.068 --> 19:01.279 "will positively contribute to regional 19:01.279 --> 19:03.682 "and international peace and security." 19:03.682 --> 19:06.017 They say nothing about Iran committing 19:06.017 --> 19:08.468 to contributing to international peace and security, 19:08.468 --> 19:11.777 they just say that the full implementation, they expect, 19:11.777 --> 19:15.706 will generally, so I don't even see how Iran is in, 19:15.706 --> 19:16.842 not in compliance with that. 19:16.842 --> 19:20.251 You're saying that, all that's said in the preface 19:20.251 --> 19:21.891 is that carrying out the deal 19:21.891 --> 19:23.167 will help lead to peace and security. 19:23.167 --> 19:25.103 - I don't have the full quote of the, 19:25.103 --> 19:26.318 of that deal in front of me, 19:26.318 --> 19:28.298 and I can look and bring in that next time. 19:28.298 --> 19:29.131 - [Reporter] Well, I just read it to you. 19:29.131 --> 19:30.670 - Okay, let's move on from Iran onto something else. 19:30.670 --> 19:32.711 Elise, last question on Iran, thank you. 19:32.711 --> 19:33.544 - Super quick one. 19:33.544 --> 19:37.711 Are you looking to have a meeting of the JCPOA countries, 19:38.038 --> 19:40.871 signatories in New York next week? 19:41.478 --> 19:42.702 And has Iran agreed to such a meeting? 19:42.702 --> 19:45.739 - So there is a ministerial that's under discussion 19:45.739 --> 19:46.788 at this time. 19:46.788 --> 19:48.507 We don't have any meetings set on that, 19:48.507 --> 19:50.751 but as soon as we do, if that were to happen, 19:50.751 --> 19:52.926 that would be, actually be an EU meeting, 19:52.926 --> 19:55.021 so they would have to confirm any of that. 19:55.021 --> 19:56.186 But I know that is one of the things 19:56.186 --> 19:57.166 that is under discussion. 19:57.166 --> 19:59.587 - And would you like or prefer 19:59.587 --> 20:01.192 that Iran is not part of that meeting? 20:01.192 --> 20:02.612 - I don't have an answer to that. 20:02.612 --> 20:03.843 I just, I'm not aware. 20:03.843 --> 20:05.550 Okay, we're moving on, who wants-- 20:05.550 --> 20:07.778 - North Korea? - We're moving from Iran now. 20:07.778 --> 20:09.141 I think we've covered it sufficiently. 20:09.141 --> 20:09.976 - [Reporter] Heather, can I ask about, 20:09.976 --> 20:11.250 can I ask an ISIS question? 20:11.250 --> 20:12.939 - So do you have a readout of 20:12.939 --> 20:15.647 Ambassador Yun's meetings in Moscow? 20:15.647 --> 20:18.894 And how, if, how receptive were the Russians 20:18.894 --> 20:21.963 to U.S. efforts to put pressure on North Korea? 20:21.963 --> 20:23.979 And is he back in the U.S. now? 20:23.979 --> 20:28.026 - Let me check for you on Ambassador Yun's schedule. 20:28.026 --> 20:30.254 He was in Moscow I believe it was for two days. 20:30.254 --> 20:31.298 I'm not sure if he's just back 20:31.298 --> 20:33.882 in the United States right now or not. 20:33.882 --> 20:37.112 I believe he will be back at least by tomorrow. 20:37.112 --> 20:38.524 I don't have a readout to provide you 20:38.524 --> 20:40.369 from that meeting that he had 20:40.369 --> 20:42.889 with some of his counterparts in Moscow, 20:42.889 --> 20:46.199 but the agenda was to talk about the DPRK. 20:46.199 --> 20:47.840 And we were very happy and pleased 20:47.840 --> 20:51.833 that Russia signed on to the UN Security Council resolution 20:51.833 --> 20:53.747 this time once again, as they did 20:53.747 --> 20:56.997 to the UN Security Council resolution last month. 20:56.997 --> 20:58.932 We think that that is a step in the right direction. 20:58.932 --> 21:00.475 The fact that we were able to sit down 21:00.475 --> 21:04.044 and speak with some of Ambassador Yun's Russian counterparts 21:04.044 --> 21:05.854 and have this conversation 21:05.854 --> 21:10.021 and recognize the activities that the DPRK is involved with 21:11.929 --> 21:13.954 and that it's a threat to international 21:13.954 --> 21:15.283 and regional security 21:15.283 --> 21:17.661 I think is a terrific step in the right direction. 21:17.661 --> 21:21.424 - And are there plans for a ministerial or meeting on DPRK? 21:21.424 --> 21:22.695 How big of a focus will this play 21:22.695 --> 21:23.848 at the UN General Assembly? 21:23.848 --> 21:27.348 - Yeah, I think when the Secretary came in 21:27.388 --> 21:28.709 and became Secretary of State, 21:28.709 --> 21:30.661 when the President brought him in to do that, 21:30.661 --> 21:32.171 the President said to him, 21:32.171 --> 21:36.092 "Top issue I'd like you to work on is North Korea." 21:36.092 --> 21:38.357 And the Secretary has taken that on 21:38.357 --> 21:40.353 in a very robust fashion. 21:40.353 --> 21:42.197 There is not a meeting, 21:42.197 --> 21:44.096 there's virtually not a meeting 21:44.096 --> 21:46.622 that he has with his overseas counterparts 21:46.622 --> 21:50.636 where he does not discuss the issue of North Korea, 21:50.636 --> 21:52.481 not only its destabilizing activities, 21:52.481 --> 21:54.441 not only its provocative actions, 21:54.441 --> 21:55.719 but, we've talked about this a lot, 21:55.719 --> 21:57.993 the number of guest workers that they have, 21:57.993 --> 22:00.487 the money that's taken from those guest workers 22:00.487 --> 22:04.284 that goes back into the pockets of the Kim Jong-un regime, 22:04.284 --> 22:05.329 not to its people, 22:05.329 --> 22:08.375 that gets used for its illegal nuclear 22:08.375 --> 22:10.832 and ballistic missile weapons programs. 22:10.832 --> 22:12.608 So we are very concerned about that 22:12.608 --> 22:14.656 and that's why it is such a top priority. 22:14.656 --> 22:16.928 Of the issues, and there are so many important issues 22:16.928 --> 22:19.280 that they're going to be speaking about at UNGA, 22:19.280 --> 22:23.440 DPRK, I can assure you, will be the top if not, the top. 22:23.440 --> 22:24.747 - Heather, follow-up on-- - Hi, Janne. 22:24.747 --> 22:28.830 - Hi, South Korea, today, South Korean Government 22:29.936 --> 22:34.103 announced that it would give North Korea $8 million 22:35.659 --> 22:37.492 in aid to North Korea. 22:37.649 --> 22:39.556 - South Korea said that it would give-- 22:39.556 --> 22:41.250 - $8 million. - $8 million. 22:41.250 --> 22:42.563 - Yes. - Okay, I'm unaware of this. 22:42.563 --> 22:43.396 - Oh yeah. 22:43.396 --> 22:47.127 How can this affect sanctions against North Korea? 22:47.127 --> 22:47.960 - I don't know. 22:47.960 --> 22:51.127 I haven't seen that report, so I just, 22:51.295 --> 22:52.865 I don't want to comment on it since I haven't seen it. 22:52.865 --> 22:53.940 - [Janne] They reported it this morning. 22:53.940 --> 22:54.773 - Pardon me? 22:54.773 --> 22:56.866 - [Janne] They, South Korea reported this morning, so, yeah. 22:56.866 --> 22:58.362 - Okay, I just have not seen that myself, 22:58.362 --> 22:59.923 so I don't want to comment on that, okay? 22:59.923 --> 23:03.774 - But this money going to nuclear development for the, 23:03.774 --> 23:05.365 I mean, Kim Jong-un's-- 23:05.365 --> 23:07.051 - Yeah, I, look, I don't know, I don't know if that's, 23:07.051 --> 23:08.685 I believe you if you say it, 23:08.685 --> 23:09.925 but I haven't seen it myself, 23:09.925 --> 23:11.266 so I just don't want to comment on it, okay? 23:11.266 --> 23:12.428 Hi, Rich. - Thank you. 23:12.428 --> 23:13.923 - [Rich] Hi, Heather, on the lack of an oil embargo 23:13.923 --> 23:15.424 in the UN Security Council resolution, 23:15.424 --> 23:16.658 the Secretary said this morning that he's hopeful 23:16.658 --> 23:18.905 that China will take it upon themselves 23:18.905 --> 23:21.947 to disrupt North Korean oil supplies. 23:21.947 --> 23:25.947 Is there an expectation that China will do that? 23:26.150 --> 23:28.427 - I think the Secretary was clear in what he said, 23:28.427 --> 23:30.844 that he hopes that they will. 23:31.032 --> 23:32.615 We're not going to, 23:34.475 --> 23:37.972 we can't force the Chinese to do anything, certainly, 23:37.972 --> 23:40.609 but I think that that would be a strong show of support 23:40.609 --> 23:41.848 if they were to do that. 23:41.848 --> 23:43.056 I mean, we're happy with their vote 23:43.056 --> 23:44.422 in the UN Security Council. 23:44.422 --> 23:46.331 This vote, the last vote, 23:46.331 --> 23:48.097 they've been taking some steps in the right direction. 23:48.097 --> 23:50.855 That would be another step that they could take. 23:50.855 --> 23:54.229 We will continue to use all available options on the table 23:54.229 --> 23:58.396 if we were to impose additional unilateral sanctions, 23:59.279 --> 24:00.812 but we'll keep having conversations 24:00.812 --> 24:03.740 with the Chinese and other nations about that. 24:03.740 --> 24:04.840 - And you expect this will be 24:04.840 --> 24:06.404 a central part of those conversations? 24:06.404 --> 24:07.635 - It certainly could be, 24:07.635 --> 24:08.505 but I don't want to get ahead 24:08.505 --> 24:10.275 of any additional conversations. 24:10.275 --> 24:12.789 - Does that line, we can't force the Chinese to do it, 24:12.789 --> 24:13.971 does that apply to other countries 24:13.971 --> 24:16.275 and other issues or is it just on China and North Korea? 24:16.275 --> 24:17.580 - [Heather] We're just talking about China right here. 24:17.580 --> 24:19.121 - Okay. - Yeah, thanks. 24:19.121 --> 24:22.009 Okay, anything else on North Korea? 24:22.009 --> 24:24.517 - [Janne] Kim Jong-un did not accept 24:24.517 --> 24:27.267 UN sanctions against North Korea. 24:27.312 --> 24:29.194 - Yeah, does that surprise you? 24:29.194 --> 24:30.027 That doesn't surprise me. 24:30.027 --> 24:31.384 Of course not, of course not. 24:31.384 --> 24:32.485 Okay, let's move on. 24:32.485 --> 24:33.647 Betsy, go right ahead. 24:33.647 --> 24:36.123 - Yeah, my publication, Daily Beast, and others, 24:36.123 --> 24:37.578 including Fox News, have reported 24:37.578 --> 24:39.717 that there's a U.S. citizen who traveled to Syria, 24:39.717 --> 24:41.948 was fighting there along ISIS, alongside ISIS, 24:41.948 --> 24:43.711 when he was apprehended by the Kurds 24:43.711 --> 24:45.779 and handed over to the U.S. military. 24:45.779 --> 24:49.816 My question is: Is he currently in Syria or Iraq, 24:49.816 --> 24:51.823 and has the Red Cross had access to him? 24:51.823 --> 24:53.695 Do you have any information about just where he is? 24:53.695 --> 24:55.975 - So I don't have a lot for you. 24:55.975 --> 24:59.257 I can tell you that we're aware of that report 24:59.257 --> 25:01.575 that a U.S. citizen was detained. 25:01.575 --> 25:04.527 Beyond that, I just don't have any specifics on that. 25:04.527 --> 25:06.505 Let me check to see if I have anything additional, 25:06.505 --> 25:07.338 but I don't. 25:07.338 --> 25:08.415 This is early on. 25:08.415 --> 25:12.582 We just learned about this issue a couple hours ago, 25:12.595 --> 25:14.653 to my awareness, at least, 25:14.653 --> 25:16.303 and I believe that that is all we have. 25:16.303 --> 25:18.264 - Well, it seems that he surrendered 25:18.264 --> 25:21.597 to Kurdish elements of the SDF in Syria. 25:22.586 --> 25:24.003 - [Heather] Okay. 25:24.378 --> 25:25.542 - Are you saying you don't know, 25:25.542 --> 25:27.875 or you can't say because of privacy? 25:27.875 --> 25:31.471 - Look, we don't have a lot of information on that. 25:31.471 --> 25:34.282 That is what is being reported, that is what somebody said. 25:34.282 --> 25:37.109 I just can't, I can't confirm that. 25:37.109 --> 25:37.942 Go ahead. 25:37.942 --> 25:39.370 - But the DOD statement that they initially gave us 25:39.370 --> 25:42.618 said that we needed to ask the Government of Iraq about it. 25:42.618 --> 25:44.017 Is there, do you have any information on who-- 25:44.017 --> 25:44.850 - [Heather] That who would ask 25:44.850 --> 25:45.683 the Government of Iraq about it? 25:45.683 --> 25:47.561 - That our publication, when we were reporting this out-- 25:47.561 --> 25:48.394 - [Heather] Okay. 25:48.394 --> 25:49.229 - We reached out to CENTCOM and they said 25:49.229 --> 25:51.828 we, they said they were deferring to the DOJ 25:51.828 --> 25:53.186 and the Government of Iraq. 25:53.186 --> 25:54.732 Just from your post at the State Department, 25:54.732 --> 25:57.348 do you have any sense of why the Government of Iraq 25:57.348 --> 25:58.964 could be involved in this issue 25:58.964 --> 26:01.873 with a U.S. citizen fighting with ISIS in Syria? 26:01.873 --> 26:04.730 - I mean, I don't know, I don't know. 26:04.730 --> 26:08.468 Look, perhaps the Government of Iraq, I mean, 26:08.468 --> 26:10.418 this is a hypothetical in a sense, 26:10.418 --> 26:12.624 in that perhaps the Government of Iraq has him. 26:12.624 --> 26:14.339 I don't know where this man is. 26:14.339 --> 26:16.920 I can only tell you that we are aware of reports 26:16.920 --> 26:19.531 that a U.S. citizen was fighting 26:19.531 --> 26:21.908 for some sort of a terror group. 26:21.908 --> 26:24.624 Whether it was ISIS or not, I do not know. 26:24.624 --> 26:26.081 It serves as a good reminder 26:26.081 --> 26:29.680 that in a nation of 330-some million people, 26:29.680 --> 26:31.164 some people will be dumb enough 26:31.164 --> 26:34.342 to go to Iraq and Syria to try to fight for ISIS. 26:34.342 --> 26:36.250 We encourage people not to do that. 26:36.250 --> 26:38.655 As the U.S. Government, we say don't go do that. 26:38.655 --> 26:40.732 I mean, you can't be very bright 26:40.732 --> 26:42.489 if you're going to go over there and do that. 26:42.489 --> 26:44.820 Beyond that, I just have no information, okay. 26:44.820 --> 26:46.401 - Can I, just one more thing on this? 26:46.401 --> 26:48.450 The CENTCOM statement, the most recent one, says, 26:48.450 --> 26:50.980 "The coalition defers questions pertaining to 26:50.980 --> 26:54.140 "captured ISIS fighters to their relative nations' 26:54.140 --> 26:57.973 "departments of state or equivalent agencies." 26:58.175 --> 26:59.428 - I'd say thanks, DOD. 26:59.428 --> 27:00.661 - [Matt] Yeah, and they've been-- 27:00.661 --> 27:01.708 - I don't have any information for you. 27:01.708 --> 27:03.110 - And in fact, and in fact, the Pentagon, 27:03.110 --> 27:06.860 it's not just CENTCOM in Baghdad or wherever. 27:07.290 --> 27:08.608 - Yeah. - It's also the Pentagon. 27:08.608 --> 27:11.112 Everyone's throwing this to you guys and-- 27:11.112 --> 27:12.987 - We don't have any information on this. 27:12.987 --> 27:15.923 - [Matt] Well, then call them out right now and say, 27:15.923 --> 27:17.204 "Stop referring questions to the State Department." 27:17.204 --> 27:19.915 - (laughs) Thanks, DOD, stop referring questions 27:19.915 --> 27:22.446 to the State Department when we don't have any information 27:22.446 --> 27:24.405 about who this person was. - Thank you. 27:24.405 --> 27:27.482 - But it is a good opportunity to remind American citizens, 27:27.482 --> 27:29.297 do not go to Iraq or Syria. 27:29.297 --> 27:30.484 It is not safe. 27:30.484 --> 27:32.919 And if you go there to Iraq and Syria, 27:32.919 --> 27:34.927 very bad things could happen to you. 27:34.927 --> 27:35.949 Leave it at that. 27:35.949 --> 27:37.414 - Can we stay with Iraq? - Anything else on that? 27:37.414 --> 27:38.574 - [Reporter] Just because you don't have 27:38.574 --> 27:39.407 any information on it, 27:39.407 --> 27:40.766 does that lead us to believe that 27:40.766 --> 27:42.739 the U.S. Government doesn't actually 27:42.739 --> 27:44.007 have this person in custody and that-- 27:44.007 --> 27:44.840 - I don't know. 27:44.840 --> 27:47.610 Look, I don't have any information about this, okay? 27:47.610 --> 27:49.555 This is getting to be a bit much now. 27:49.555 --> 27:51.070 When I tell you I don't have any information about it, 27:51.070 --> 27:53.288 I am telling you I don't have any information about it. 27:53.288 --> 27:55.438 - But I'm just asking if, if you did have someone, 27:55.438 --> 27:58.521 would Consular Affairs make us aware, 27:58.558 --> 28:01.576 or is that something that you guys wouldn't necessarily-- 28:01.576 --> 28:02.409 - I don't know the answer. 28:02.409 --> 28:03.777 I don't know the answer to that. 28:03.777 --> 28:04.869 - Okay. - I'd have to check on that. 28:04.869 --> 28:06.005 - Stay on Iraq? - Okay. 28:06.005 --> 28:09.864 - Today, the president's office of the northern, 28:09.864 --> 28:13.947 the KRG, the Kurdistan Region, issued a statement 28:14.204 --> 28:17.589 that he's looking at alternatives as a result of his meeting 28:17.589 --> 28:19.846 with Mr. McGurk and a high-level UK person. 28:19.846 --> 28:21.444 - [Heather] He's looking at alternatives to what? 28:21.444 --> 28:22.989 - To the, to the referendum 28:22.989 --> 28:25.356 that is scheduled for the 25 of this month. 28:25.356 --> 28:26.397 - Okay. - Okay. 28:26.397 --> 28:29.629 So I would, could you share with us if you have any idea 28:29.629 --> 28:32.077 as to what that alternative might be 28:32.077 --> 28:34.948 to the referendum which would conceivably 28:34.948 --> 28:36.981 result in an independent Kurdistan? 28:36.981 --> 28:38.311 - Yeah, I'm not aware of that. 28:38.311 --> 28:40.916 I believe that Brett McGurk is still over there 28:40.916 --> 28:43.530 in the region, and I'm just not aware of what meetings 28:43.530 --> 28:45.723 he had and what came up in those conversations. 28:45.723 --> 28:48.495 But the U.S. Government, as we have told you, 28:48.495 --> 28:51.816 we don't support the planned Kurdish referendum 28:51.816 --> 28:54.863 on September 25th because we feel that that takes 28:54.863 --> 28:56.531 the eye off the ball of ISIS 28:56.531 --> 28:59.043 and that we should all remain focused on ISIS. 28:59.043 --> 29:01.092 And when I topped at the beginning of this briefing 29:01.092 --> 29:03.371 with that most recent attack 29:03.371 --> 29:05.599 that took place in Nineveh province, 29:05.599 --> 29:06.787 that's a good reminder why 29:06.787 --> 29:09.015 we can't take our eye off the ball, which is ISIS. 29:09.015 --> 29:10.826 - Well, the Kurds are hoping that 29:10.826 --> 29:13.835 even if they have a referendum and you are opposed to it, 29:13.835 --> 29:16.585 once they go ahead with statehood 29:16.920 --> 29:19.084 that you'll be the first to recognize them. 29:19.084 --> 29:20.283 Could you give us, I mean, 29:20.283 --> 29:23.718 is your position firm on this non-support of-- 29:23.718 --> 29:25.562 - Our position is firm that we don't support 29:25.562 --> 29:27.261 this referendum at this time. 29:27.261 --> 29:29.122 We do not support the referendum 29:29.122 --> 29:31.649 on Kurdish independence at the time because of ISIS. 29:31.649 --> 29:32.482 Okay. 29:32.482 --> 29:33.414 - [Reporter] Moving away from Iraq, if that's okay? 29:33.414 --> 29:34.749 - Sure. - Can we talk about Cuba? 29:34.749 --> 29:35.582 - Sure. 29:36.152 --> 29:39.593 - I don't know if you have any new information to give us. 29:39.593 --> 29:42.884 I know sometimes you randomly have new details, 29:42.884 --> 29:44.967 new totals, or something. 29:45.072 --> 29:47.806 But any response to the report from the Associated Press 29:47.806 --> 29:51.856 that includes some of the details of these attacks, 29:51.856 --> 29:54.325 including that for some people, 29:54.325 --> 29:55.970 they could hear a noise 29:55.970 --> 29:58.088 and feel an attack in certain parts of a room 29:58.088 --> 29:59.117 but not others? 29:59.117 --> 30:03.284 - Yeah, so I certainly read the article with great interest, 30:03.425 --> 30:05.008 as did a lot of us. 30:06.501 --> 30:07.334 There's not going to be a lot 30:07.334 --> 30:10.927 that I'm going to be able to confirm about that report. 30:10.927 --> 30:14.594 I think all of this underscores that we are, 30:14.731 --> 30:18.018 at the State Department, very deeply concerned 30:18.018 --> 30:19.854 about what has taken place 30:19.854 --> 30:22.365 and what has happened to our American personnel 30:22.365 --> 30:26.115 who have been serving at our embassy in Cuba. 30:26.125 --> 30:30.292 It's a good reminder of the work that our people do 30:30.653 --> 30:34.820 each and every day to represent the United States in, 30:35.577 --> 30:36.685 all across the world 30:36.685 --> 30:38.940 and sometimes in very difficult situations, 30:38.940 --> 30:40.814 and this has certainly turned out 30:40.814 --> 30:44.524 to be a difficult situation for some of our people. 30:44.524 --> 30:46.804 I don't have any change in numbers 30:46.804 --> 30:49.137 to provide you at this time. 30:49.314 --> 30:51.895 We can certainly say that 21 people 30:51.895 --> 30:53.874 have been affected by this. 30:53.874 --> 30:56.787 We hope that that number will not increase. 30:56.787 --> 30:58.985 We certainly can't count that out. 30:58.985 --> 31:01.229 We are having our people medically tested. 31:01.229 --> 31:05.396 We have a full-time medical officer who is there in Cuba. 31:05.871 --> 31:08.287 But as you know, and we've talked about this before, 31:08.287 --> 31:12.204 our staff is also able to get medical treatment 31:12.535 --> 31:14.471 and tests and everything here on 31:14.471 --> 31:16.600 what I'll just call the mainland. 31:16.600 --> 31:18.507 They continue to undergo tests. 31:18.507 --> 31:22.424 Our folks are able to leave Havana, leave Cuba, 31:22.592 --> 31:24.985 and return back home if they wish to do so, 31:24.985 --> 31:26.318 if they wish to, 31:26.502 --> 31:28.694 I think we call it compassionate curtailment 31:28.694 --> 31:30.363 or something like that, 31:30.363 --> 31:31.924 where they're able to switch out a job. 31:31.924 --> 31:33.197 So if they're serving there in Cuba, 31:33.197 --> 31:34.589 they want to come home and do something else, 31:34.589 --> 31:36.691 they are certainly welcome to do so. 31:36.691 --> 31:40.717 The investigation into all of this is still underway. 31:40.717 --> 31:44.021 It is an aggressive investigation that continues, 31:44.021 --> 31:45.824 and we will continue doing this 31:45.824 --> 31:49.802 until we find out who or what is responsible for this. 31:49.802 --> 31:51.495 - Does the number keep climbing because 31:51.495 --> 31:52.772 there have been new incidents 31:52.772 --> 31:55.603 or because more people have seen medical professionals 31:55.603 --> 31:56.811 and gotten diagnoses? 31:56.811 --> 32:00.811 - I think, so the last reported incident we have 32:00.850 --> 32:04.255 remains the same as what I told you before a few weeks ago, 32:04.255 --> 32:06.088 which was late August. 32:06.165 --> 32:08.791 We are not aware of anything that has taken place 32:08.791 --> 32:12.958 since that time, but our people continue to undergo tests. 32:13.201 --> 32:16.432 The symptoms, and I'll be vague about this, 32:16.432 --> 32:18.543 but can be different in different people. 32:18.543 --> 32:22.070 And I'm not going to get into any specifics beyond that. 32:22.070 --> 32:23.750 But our people are continuing to be tested. 32:23.750 --> 32:24.601 - One more follow-up. - Yeah. 32:24.601 --> 32:26.287 - The incident at the end of August, 32:26.287 --> 32:28.311 you prior to that had said that there 32:28.311 --> 32:31.141 hadn't been any incidents since the spring. 32:31.141 --> 32:31.974 - [Heather] That's correct. 32:31.974 --> 32:33.041 - Were there any then in between 32:33.041 --> 32:35.668 that you didn't know about until more recently? 32:35.668 --> 32:37.312 - Not that, not that I am aware of. 32:37.312 --> 32:39.233 Not that I am aware of at this time. 32:39.233 --> 32:41.416 - [Reporter] And because more information, obviously, 32:41.416 --> 32:42.597 keeps coming in on this 32:42.597 --> 32:44.312 and the details have changed 32:44.312 --> 32:46.306 as more people have come forward, 32:46.306 --> 32:50.121 I know at one point the phrase "health attack" was used, 32:50.121 --> 32:51.596 then we've gone to "incident", 32:51.596 --> 32:55.763 is there any reason to use the word "attack" at this point 32:56.278 --> 32:58.422 based on whatever new information you have or-- 32:58.422 --> 33:02.172 - Yeah, the Secretary said in, back in August 33:02.869 --> 33:04.598 that our personnel in Cuba have been 33:04.598 --> 33:06.765 subject to health attacks. 33:07.796 --> 33:10.740 We have medically confirmed that our personnel's health 33:10.740 --> 33:13.407 was affected by these incidents. 33:13.883 --> 33:16.966 So I've been a little bit more broad. 33:17.765 --> 33:19.763 I've used the terms "incidents," 33:19.763 --> 33:22.096 but as we have learned more, 33:22.924 --> 33:25.539 the Secretary has referred to it as such. 33:25.539 --> 33:27.003 - So wait, well, the Secretary referred to it 33:27.003 --> 33:28.610 at that time, so-- - Correct. 33:28.610 --> 33:32.277 - Is it appropriate to call these "attacks?" 33:32.835 --> 33:34.636 - The Secretary called them health attacks, 33:34.636 --> 33:36.053 he certainly did. 33:36.180 --> 33:39.347 They are, the health of Americans was, 33:39.498 --> 33:41.114 in fact, affected by it. 33:41.114 --> 33:42.103 - [Reporter] Yeah, but it's the word "attack" 33:42.103 --> 33:42.936 that is the issue here, so-- 33:42.936 --> 33:44.915 - Yeah, I understand, I understand. 33:44.915 --> 33:46.243 - [Reporter] I mean, is it-- 33:46.243 --> 33:48.761 - Look, the reality is we don't know 33:48.761 --> 33:50.827 who or what has caused this, 33:50.827 --> 33:53.076 and that's why the investigation is underway. 33:53.076 --> 33:56.464 - Okay, so for the people who remain there, 33:56.464 --> 34:00.036 because nobody really knows what's going on here, 34:00.036 --> 34:03.421 is there any kind of precaution that has been taken? 34:03.421 --> 34:05.131 I mean, I don't know what that would be, 34:05.131 --> 34:08.250 but can you say whether they've been able to 34:08.250 --> 34:10.589 identify things that they could do to try to avoid this? 34:10.589 --> 34:14.080 - I know that we have, certainly our Diplomatic Security 34:14.080 --> 34:17.771 and others have been able to look through people's rooms 34:17.771 --> 34:20.698 and do searches and things of that nature. 34:20.698 --> 34:22.740 But we still don't know who or what is causing this, 34:22.740 --> 34:25.157 and so it's hard to do a lot, 34:25.542 --> 34:27.087 a lot more when you don't know who 34:27.087 --> 34:28.239 or what is causing something. 34:28.239 --> 34:29.264 - [Reporter] But there's some extra security 34:29.264 --> 34:30.970 at some of the, isn't there? 34:30.970 --> 34:33.129 The Cubans have provided extra security now? 34:33.129 --> 34:34.453 - If there is, I'm not aware of that, 34:34.453 --> 34:35.534 but we can look into it. 34:35.534 --> 34:38.273 - [Reporter] Have they changed anything 34:38.273 --> 34:39.302 about the living arrangements 34:39.302 --> 34:40.446 or the furnishings, or I mean, 34:40.446 --> 34:44.196 have they moved things out of the residences? 34:44.384 --> 34:45.308 - I'm not sure. 34:45.308 --> 34:48.045 I can look into that and see what I can get for you. 34:48.045 --> 34:50.086 - Heather, beyond compassionate curtailment 34:50.086 --> 34:51.957 has there been any consideration at the State Department 34:51.957 --> 34:55.890 of maybe reducing staff of those who have not been affected, 34:55.890 --> 34:57.841 as it appears, whether it's a health attack 34:57.841 --> 34:59.841 or incident or whatever, 34:59.854 --> 35:01.146 that this is a dangerous situation 35:01.146 --> 35:02.916 and the U.S. isn't sure what's causing it? 35:02.916 --> 35:05.999 - Yeah, I mean, look, it obviously is 35:06.175 --> 35:10.342 a dangerous situation when our people have been affected. 35:11.233 --> 35:13.849 We are tremendously concerned about that. 35:13.849 --> 35:15.579 We still have work that needs to be done. 35:15.579 --> 35:18.383 Our folks can come back to the United States 35:18.383 --> 35:20.216 if they wish to do so. 35:20.871 --> 35:24.239 It shows the bravery, the hard work and the dedication 35:24.239 --> 35:26.270 of Americans, whether they are serving in Cuba 35:26.270 --> 35:29.767 or whether they are serving anywhere across the world. 35:29.767 --> 35:31.817 We have folks who are in, 35:31.817 --> 35:35.067 down in the Irma territories right now. 35:35.606 --> 35:36.915 We have folks in Iraq and in Syria, 35:36.915 --> 35:39.535 all across the world doing difficult jobs, 35:39.535 --> 35:42.705 and I want to recognize them and let them know that we care, 35:42.705 --> 35:44.559 we certainly have not forgotten about them, 35:44.559 --> 35:47.479 and that this investigation is aggressive. 35:47.479 --> 35:49.396 It's a multiagency investigation 35:49.396 --> 35:50.505 and that investigation will continue 35:50.505 --> 35:52.193 till we figure out what's going on. 35:52.193 --> 35:53.026 Okay. 35:53.026 --> 35:53.859 - Can I just, like, clarify one thing? 35:53.859 --> 35:55.224 When you, in the answer, your answer to the first question 35:55.224 --> 35:56.977 said you weren't able to confirm the detail, 35:56.977 --> 35:58.190 any of the details that were in the report, 35:58.190 --> 35:59.918 but you're not disputing anything in the report, are you? 35:59.918 --> 36:01.458 - I'm not confirming, 36:01.458 --> 36:03.744 I'm not confirming anything in the report. 36:03.744 --> 36:05.438 That wouldn't be appropriate for me to do so, 36:05.438 --> 36:09.605 because some of what was reported was very detailed 36:09.681 --> 36:11.614 and it would certainly go beyond 36:11.614 --> 36:12.656 anything that we would be able to comment on. 36:12.656 --> 36:15.264 - I understand that, but you're not taking issue with any, 36:15.264 --> 36:19.181 like, specific parts of the story, are you, no? 36:19.469 --> 36:20.656 - Matt, I'm not going to confirm, 36:20.656 --> 36:23.310 I'm not going to deny pieces of the story. 36:23.310 --> 36:25.449 It just wouldn't be appropriate for me to do that 36:25.449 --> 36:29.512 because then that is akin to the State Department saying, 36:29.512 --> 36:31.961 "Yes, this happened, no, this happened," 36:31.961 --> 36:33.070 certain things about that. 36:33.070 --> 36:35.060 - [Michelle] Have residences been changed at all? 36:35.060 --> 36:37.836 - I, Michelle, not that I'm aware of, 36:37.836 --> 36:39.300 but I will certainly look into that for you. 36:39.300 --> 36:40.841 I think that that is a good question. 36:40.841 --> 36:42.822 It's a question that deserves to be asked, 36:42.822 --> 36:44.074 and I will be sure to follow up 36:44.074 --> 36:45.628 with our Diplomatic Security folks about that. 36:45.628 --> 36:47.331 - [Reporter] Is Cuba still cooperating 36:47.331 --> 36:48.423 with the U.S. investigation? 36:48.423 --> 36:50.714 - Last I heard, yes, they have been. 36:50.714 --> 36:51.802 Okay. All right. 36:51.802 --> 36:52.931 - Madam. - Burma. 36:52.931 --> 36:54.324 - Anything, okay, let's talk Burma. 36:54.324 --> 36:56.038 - [Reporter] Just a couple of quick questions. 36:56.038 --> 36:58.723 The timing of summoning the ambassador. 36:58.723 --> 36:59.556 - Yes. 36:59.556 --> 37:02.150 - Was there anything that that hinged upon? 37:02.150 --> 37:05.983 I mean, why this week as opposed to last week? 37:06.409 --> 37:09.400 - So let me clarify one thing about that. 37:09.400 --> 37:13.567 And I know you had reported that the ambassador to Burma 37:15.065 --> 37:18.012 was brought in here to the State Department yesterday 37:18.012 --> 37:19.601 to have a conversation with 37:19.601 --> 37:23.310 our Deputy Assistant Secretary Patrick Murphy. 37:23.310 --> 37:25.492 Patrick Murphy is the one who, well, 37:25.492 --> 37:29.325 has been very active and very engaged on this. 37:29.357 --> 37:31.448 Deputy Assistant Secretary Murphy 37:31.448 --> 37:34.827 will be heading to Burma sometime this weekend 37:34.827 --> 37:36.091 for a trip next week, 37:36.091 --> 37:38.785 and that's when he'll be meeting with government officials. 37:38.785 --> 37:40.799 Among the things that he will be pressing for 37:40.799 --> 37:43.737 will be additional humanitarian access, 37:43.737 --> 37:46.987 reporter access, and expressing concern 37:47.102 --> 37:49.133 about the state of the Rohingya. 37:49.133 --> 37:51.254 I just want to clarify though, 37:51.254 --> 37:54.337 so we're clear, we didn't call him in 37:54.587 --> 37:56.711 as in the official call-in. 37:56.711 --> 37:58.183 They agreed to a meeting. 37:58.183 --> 37:59.594 The ambassador came here 37:59.594 --> 38:02.337 and then they had what was described to me 38:02.337 --> 38:06.234 as a tough conversation, obviously, about a tough situation. 38:06.234 --> 38:10.067 - And did that ambassador deliver any kind of, 38:10.549 --> 38:11.850 I mean, did they come in prepared 38:11.850 --> 38:16.017 to deliver any assurances or what did they give towards-- 38:16.755 --> 38:19.166 - If they did, I am not aware of that. 38:19.166 --> 38:21.499 But I think it's a good sign 38:22.114 --> 38:26.031 that we have had a very highly engaged dialogue 38:27.408 --> 38:31.575 with the government there, between the ambassador, 38:31.601 --> 38:35.268 our U.S. ambassador who is serving in Burma, 38:35.328 --> 38:37.580 he's had a lot of conversations with 38:37.580 --> 38:39.400 representatives of the government there. 38:39.400 --> 38:42.409 Our deputy assistant secretary has as well. 38:42.409 --> 38:45.037 This is an issue we are very passionate about 38:45.037 --> 38:46.138 and we continue to work on it. 38:46.138 --> 38:47.239 - And some senators want to 38:47.239 --> 38:50.822 not expand military-to-military cooperation 38:51.595 --> 38:53.178 anymore with Burma. 38:53.238 --> 38:56.323 Does the Secretary feel that that's a good idea? 38:56.323 --> 39:00.490 Or is he one who thinks more engagement is better? 39:00.632 --> 39:03.704 - I'm not aware of what those members of Congress 39:03.704 --> 39:05.777 are asking us to do or not to do, 39:05.777 --> 39:06.977 so I would just have to refer you back to 39:06.977 --> 39:08.663 those members of Congress. 39:08.663 --> 39:11.086 I have not asked the Secretary that specific question. 39:11.086 --> 39:12.087 - [Reporter] Okay, thanks. 39:12.087 --> 39:13.517 - Okay, anything else on Burma? 39:13.517 --> 39:14.938 - [Reporter] Just a follow-up, quick follow-up. 39:14.938 --> 39:16.881 Is he also planning to go to Bangladesh 39:16.881 --> 39:20.104 because of the Rohingyas refugees are there? 39:20.104 --> 39:22.125 - I'm not aware if he's going to Bangladesh. 39:22.125 --> 39:24.603 I know for a fact he's going to Burma. 39:24.603 --> 39:27.654 We have been pretty clear in thanking 39:27.654 --> 39:29.312 the Government of Bangladesh 39:29.312 --> 39:33.411 for accepting so many of the Rohingya into their country 39:33.411 --> 39:36.661 to provide them at least a safer place. 39:37.734 --> 39:39.863 The United States has provided 39:39.863 --> 39:41.863 63 million or so dollars 39:41.976 --> 39:44.476 to internally displaced people 39:44.549 --> 39:47.799 as well as externally displaced people. 39:48.045 --> 39:51.045 I know that the country has received 39:51.677 --> 39:54.317 some of that money themselves in that assistance. 39:54.317 --> 39:56.456 But I don't know if he's traveling beyond Burma. 39:56.456 --> 39:58.729 - [Reporter] And also, has Secretary spoken to 39:58.729 --> 40:00.851 Aung San Suu Kyi on this issue? 40:00.851 --> 40:02.198 - Not at this point. 40:02.198 --> 40:03.850 - [Reporter] And next week at UNGA, 40:03.850 --> 40:05.845 the Bangladeshi prime minister is coming. 40:05.845 --> 40:08.133 Does the Secretary have any plans to meet her? 40:08.133 --> 40:10.460 - I'm not aware of that on his schedule, okay? 40:10.460 --> 40:11.293 Hey, Elise. 40:11.293 --> 40:13.068 - The Secretary was pretty forceful today in his comments 40:13.068 --> 40:14.852 about the situation there. 40:14.852 --> 40:17.674 And he kind of gave a nod to comments 40:17.674 --> 40:21.841 by other officials that have called it ethnic cleansing. 40:22.820 --> 40:26.236 And what is the position of the State Department? 40:26.236 --> 40:28.668 I know it's a very, like, legal term. 40:28.668 --> 40:29.847 - Yeah, it's a very technical thing. 40:29.847 --> 40:31.739 - [Reporter] Is there a review going on 40:31.739 --> 40:33.612 with the State Department lawyers 40:33.612 --> 40:37.118 in terms of trying to determine whether this constitutes 40:37.118 --> 40:39.360 any type of effort towards genocide or ethnic cleansing? 40:39.360 --> 40:40.443 - I can only say that we are 40:40.443 --> 40:42.226 assessing the situation on the ground. 40:42.226 --> 40:44.565 There is still, I mean, despite 40:44.565 --> 40:47.948 the horrific pictures that you've seen and the reporting 40:47.948 --> 40:50.511 and some of the harrowing details that you've read about, 40:50.511 --> 40:53.245 there's still not a lot of information that, 40:53.245 --> 40:57.412 as a government, we've been able to independently verify, 40:57.550 --> 40:59.518 in terms of from our own people 40:59.518 --> 41:01.515 being able to ask those questions 41:01.515 --> 41:04.000 and getting enough good answers, 41:04.000 --> 41:06.759 solid answers that are verifiable. 41:06.759 --> 41:07.602 In addition to that, 41:07.602 --> 41:09.395 we've been working with a lot of partners on the ground. 41:09.395 --> 41:10.930 But as you know well know, 41:10.930 --> 41:12.962 the humanitarian situation has been difficult. 41:12.962 --> 41:14.365 While there are some people there, 41:14.365 --> 41:16.183 there are certainly not enough. 41:16.183 --> 41:18.257 We work with a lot of those humanitarian organizations 41:18.257 --> 41:20.607 on the ground to try to get additional information, 41:20.607 --> 41:22.050 but we just don't have enough just yet. 41:22.050 --> 41:24.124 But I know that that is all being assessed and reviewed. 41:24.124 --> 41:25.861 - So, okay. - Okay, hi. 41:25.861 --> 41:26.982 - Yeah, I'm struggling with this. 41:26.982 --> 41:29.202 The government, the Trump administration keeps saying 41:29.202 --> 41:31.162 "if" ethnic cleansing or "if" this 41:31.162 --> 41:33.912 sort of catastrophe is unfolding. 41:34.890 --> 41:37.549 250,000 people, are they all lying? 41:37.549 --> 41:40.008 I mean, you have satellites, you have intelligence. 41:40.008 --> 41:41.942 How this many days, this many weeks later 41:41.942 --> 41:43.550 do you not know what's going on? 41:43.550 --> 41:45.022 - I think we want to make sure 41:45.022 --> 41:46.495 that we are right in that assessment. 41:46.495 --> 41:49.246 As Elise mentioned, it is a technical issue. 41:49.246 --> 41:51.913 When it comes to assessing that, 41:52.139 --> 41:55.877 there are a lot of things that need to be met. 41:55.877 --> 41:58.107 It's not as simple as you want to make it right now, 41:58.107 --> 41:59.904 but I can tell you it's under review. 41:59.904 --> 42:02.015 We are passionate about this issue, 42:02.015 --> 42:03.043 we care about this issue. 42:03.043 --> 42:06.300 We have had folks engaged in this for many years. 42:06.300 --> 42:08.031 This has not just started all of a sudden. 42:08.031 --> 42:10.800 This has been unfolding for decades now. 42:10.800 --> 42:12.955 But we are certainly focused on it now, 42:12.955 --> 42:15.708 as we were before, and we'll continue to work on this, okay. 42:15.708 --> 42:17.027 - [Reporter] So if you find it's ethnic cleansing, 42:17.027 --> 42:18.192 what is the responsibility 42:18.192 --> 42:20.461 that the U.S. has in that situation? 42:20.461 --> 42:22.051 - I, it's a, that's a hypothetical. 42:22.051 --> 42:22.932 I'm just not going to get into that, okay? 42:22.932 --> 42:24.171 - [Reporter] Well, no, no, no, I mean, it's actually-- 42:24.171 --> 42:25.004 - She said, just said "if." 42:25.004 --> 42:25.837 That's a, it's a hypothetical. 42:25.837 --> 42:26.670 I'm not going to get into that. 42:26.670 --> 42:30.080 - I understand, but if you're trying to assess 42:30.080 --> 42:31.163 - Yeah? - If. 42:31.618 --> 42:33.489 - Whether, well-- - What? 42:33.489 --> 42:36.322 - The practice of trying to assess 42:36.381 --> 42:39.265 whether ethnic cleansing took place, 42:39.265 --> 42:41.765 when there is a determination, 42:41.860 --> 42:44.552 that definitely triggers a policy response 42:44.552 --> 42:47.732 and you're making an effort to assess that. 42:47.732 --> 42:50.614 - We are making an effort to assess this, okay. 42:50.614 --> 42:52.939 - [Reporter] So not as it, not as it applies to Myanmar 42:52.939 --> 42:55.550 what does the State Department do in situations where 42:55.550 --> 42:57.748 ethnic cleansing has been found? 42:57.748 --> 43:00.179 - Well, I think you've seen our action in the past. 43:00.179 --> 43:02.354 I think you've seen how much we care 43:02.354 --> 43:05.521 about issues such as that in the past. 43:06.161 --> 43:08.646 It's under review, and that's all I can say about it, okay. 43:08.646 --> 43:10.252 - [Reporter] How long do you think the review will take? 43:10.252 --> 43:13.609 - I will never preview how long a review will take. 43:13.609 --> 43:17.776 You could ask me that about the previous Afghan review, 43:17.982 --> 43:20.015 you could ask me that about our Pakistan review, 43:20.015 --> 43:22.027 you could ask me that about our Iran review. 43:22.027 --> 43:24.043 I'm never going to give you a timeline 43:24.043 --> 43:25.507 on how long a review will take. 43:25.507 --> 43:28.772 We will do a review until we have sufficient information 43:28.772 --> 43:32.275 and until we can provide good solid information 43:32.275 --> 43:35.618 with evidence, that is backed by evidence, okay? 43:35.618 --> 43:36.615 Thank you, everybody. 43:36.615 --> 43:37.448 - [Matt] Before you walk away 43:37.448 --> 43:39.918 could I ask you two really brief and very disparate things? 43:39.918 --> 43:40.751 - Yeah. 43:40.751 --> 43:42.447 - One, on the latest escalation, 43:42.447 --> 43:44.043 or what appears to be escalation in your 43:44.043 --> 43:47.543 ongoing diplomatic spat with the Russians, 43:48.437 --> 43:52.039 they seem to have removed some of your parking spaces. 43:52.039 --> 43:53.462 Are you guys going to retaliate? 43:53.462 --> 43:54.491 What's next here? 43:54.491 --> 43:56.703 Are you going to be forcing Russian diplomats in Washington 43:56.703 --> 43:59.275 to ride bicycles, or what's the deal? 43:59.275 --> 44:00.749 - A lot of people around here ride bicycles. 44:00.749 --> 44:02.220 That's not such a bad idea. - I know! 44:02.220 --> 44:03.499 - Someone was lobbying me on that 44:03.499 --> 44:05.832 in the garage the other day. 44:05.850 --> 44:08.457 We can confirm that the parking spaces 44:08.457 --> 44:11.374 that were previously designated for 44:11.901 --> 44:16.068 our consulate personnel in Russia were recently removed, 44:16.371 --> 44:17.977 so we can confirm that that happened. 44:17.977 --> 44:20.596 We will plan to raise that issue 44:20.596 --> 44:23.863 with Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs 44:23.863 --> 44:25.521 to discuss that with them. 44:25.521 --> 44:28.583 But I don't want to characterize that 44:28.583 --> 44:30.833 as any sort of retaliation. 44:31.291 --> 44:35.458 I think we want to forge ahead with our relationship 44:35.797 --> 44:36.976 with the Government of Russia. 44:36.976 --> 44:39.143 And we had a good meeting. 44:41.471 --> 44:44.404 Under Secretary Shannon had a positive meeting 44:44.404 --> 44:45.752 with Mr. Ryabkov, 44:45.752 --> 44:46.879 and we'll go from there in our relationship. 44:46.879 --> 44:47.712 - All right. 44:47.712 --> 44:50.288 But so in other words, you don't intend, 44:50.288 --> 44:53.072 there doesn't, you don't intend to respond to this. 44:53.072 --> 44:55.070 - I don't have any information to provide on that, yeah. 44:55.070 --> 44:56.169 - Okay, do you know, just offhand, 44:56.169 --> 44:58.653 do you know if it has caused major inconvenience 44:58.653 --> 45:02.320 for people in Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok? 45:02.929 --> 45:04.059 - I don't know the answer to that. 45:04.059 --> 45:05.830 We have fewer people there, so maybe a few. 45:05.830 --> 45:06.663 - Right. 45:06.788 --> 45:08.442 And then lastly at, I mean, to, 45:08.442 --> 45:10.971 I understand that the administration's thinking 45:10.971 --> 45:13.048 on the Taylor Force Act and that, 45:13.048 --> 45:15.715 and Palestinian aid has evolved. 45:17.077 --> 45:18.577 What's the latest? 45:18.673 --> 45:21.336 Is the administration prepared to support 45:21.336 --> 45:23.793 the Taylor Force Act now, which as you know, 45:23.793 --> 45:26.817 would cut off aid to the Palestinians 45:26.817 --> 45:30.817 if they don't stop payments to the families of-- 45:31.351 --> 45:32.184 - You know what? 45:32.184 --> 45:34.520 This was something that was just brought to my attention 45:34.520 --> 45:36.428 as I was walking out here, 45:36.428 --> 45:39.548 and I didn't get a chance to go through it all. 45:39.548 --> 45:41.337 So I just don't have any, an update for you 45:41.337 --> 45:42.170 on that right now, 45:42.170 --> 45:43.569 but I can get that for you in just a little bit. 45:43.569 --> 45:44.402 - All right. - Okay? 45:44.402 --> 45:45.235 Thank you, everybody. 45:45.235 --> 45:47.032 We got to go. - Just a practical one. 45:47.032 --> 45:49.782 You, do you have a rough estimate 45:50.531 --> 45:52.942 for how much smaller your footprint will be 45:52.942 --> 45:55.108 at UNGA this year than in past years? 45:55.108 --> 45:57.176 - So what I can tell you is that 45:57.176 --> 45:59.593 we have a very robust agenda. 45:59.633 --> 46:02.216 We have our diplomats and folks 46:02.678 --> 46:04.425 who are on their way up there. 46:04.425 --> 46:08.295 The Secretary heads up there on Friday, as I mentioned. 46:08.295 --> 46:11.212 We have a full schedule of meetings 46:11.711 --> 46:14.401 that we are still working out right now. 46:14.401 --> 46:16.822 Some folks like to focus on the overall size 46:16.822 --> 46:19.369 of the footprint, and I can tell you 46:19.369 --> 46:21.952 that diplomats are still going. 46:22.499 --> 46:24.238 We are still doing all of the work 46:24.238 --> 46:28.328 that is necessary and important to the State Department. 46:28.328 --> 46:30.849 In terms of a smaller footprint, 46:30.849 --> 46:33.495 there will be some support staff 46:33.495 --> 46:35.067 who will not be going this year, 46:35.067 --> 46:36.120 because we recognize that 46:36.120 --> 46:37.899 there is this thing called technology. 46:37.899 --> 46:39.794 There's this thing called email, 46:39.794 --> 46:43.834 which some people are able to provide support staffing 46:43.834 --> 46:46.015 to our colleagues who will be in New York 46:46.015 --> 46:48.265 by emailing information in. 46:48.498 --> 46:50.569 So we don't feel that this year 46:50.569 --> 46:54.081 we need the bodies that we have had in years past. 46:54.081 --> 46:56.034 The Secretary firmly believes, 46:56.034 --> 46:57.354 coming out of the private sector, 46:57.354 --> 46:59.840 that he needs to, and that we all need to 46:59.840 --> 47:02.923 be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. 47:03.151 --> 47:05.384 And by not having as large of a footprint 47:05.384 --> 47:06.956 in New York the week of UNGA, 47:06.956 --> 47:08.982 by the way, have you checked hotel rates? 47:08.982 --> 47:10.096 - Yeah. - Have for many years. 47:10.096 --> 47:12.865 - I found a hotel right down the street, 47:12.865 --> 47:15.625 and it's not a great hotel, by the way, it's $1,400 a night. 47:15.625 --> 47:18.292 So I mean, the hotel rates alone 47:19.130 --> 47:21.127 are ridiculously expensive. 47:21.127 --> 47:22.537 So by cutting back 47:22.537 --> 47:25.137 and cutting back the number of support staff going, 47:25.137 --> 47:27.136 we feel like we'll still be able to do our job. 47:27.136 --> 47:29.592 We'll still be able to conduct diplomacy, 47:29.592 --> 47:31.650 but some of our folks will be back here in Washington 47:31.650 --> 47:32.520 or working from elsewhere. 47:32.520 --> 47:33.728 - [Reporter] And do you have an estimate on the savings? 47:33.728 --> 47:35.354 - I'm, I do not, nope. 47:35.354 --> 47:36.507 Thanks, everybody. 47:36.507 --> 47:37.533 - [Matt] Were you quoting, that's the government rate? 47:37.533 --> 47:38.366 $1,400? 47:38.366 --> 47:39.408 - That was just the regular rate. 47:39.408 --> 47:40.930 I don't know what the government rate is. 47:40.930 --> 47:43.086 - Be careful about extolling--