Counterterrorism

On the Terrorist Designations of The Terrorgram Collective and Three Leaders

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Terrorist Designations of The Terrorgram Collective and Three Leaders

Office of the Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

On the Release of the 2023 Country Reports on Terrorism

Office of the Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Disrupting Hamas Fundraising and Advocacy Efforts

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Uganda National Day

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

On behalf of the United States of America, I congratulate the people of Uganda on the 62nd anniversary of Uganda’s independence, and wish them a happy independence day.  We take this occasion to commemorate our partnership and celebrate the progress we have made addressing regional security challenges, improving public health outcomes, spurring mutually beneficial economic investment, and investing in education for new generations of Ugandans.  The United States looks forward to continuing to support the Ugandan people as they work to build an inclusive, democratic, and prosperous future.

Counterterrorism

Joint Communiqué by Ministers of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS

Office of the Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Senior Administration Official and Senior Defense Official on a Transition Plan for Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq

Office of the Spokesperson

Via Teleconference

Counterterrorism

Sanctioning Networks Enabling Illicit Trade Benefitting Hizballah

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Imposing Sanctions on ISIS Affiliates in Africa

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Terrorist Designation of Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Designating Transnational Network Supporting al-Shabaab

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Joint Statement on the U.S.-Türkiye Strategic Mechanism

Office of the Spokesperson

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and Türkiye on the occasion of the seventh meeting of the U.S.-Türkiye Strategic Mechanism.

Begin Text:

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan presided over the seventh meeting of the U.S.-Türkiye Strategic Mechanism on March 7-8, 2024, in Washington.  The Strategic Mechanism featured open, collaborative, strategic discussions led by senior-level officials from the U.S. Department of State and Türkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 7, followed by a meeting between Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan on March 8.

Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan reiterated their commitment to a results-oriented, forward-looking, positive bilateral agenda that advances shared objectives and addresses emerging global challenges.  They discussed strengthening the U.S.-Türkiye relationship on a wide range of issues, including regional priorities, counterterrorism, defense cooperation, economic growth, trade, energy security and climate change, and people-to-people ties.

Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan reiterated the support of the United States and Türkiye for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity against Russia’s unacceptable war.  The United States welcomed Türkiye’s efforts in the Black Sea, including the recently announced mine countermeasure task group and the facilitation of vital safe routes for grain and other international commerce.

Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan discussed the ongoing crisis in Gaza and reviewed their respective diplomatic engagements. They underlined the importance of finding a path towards ending the conflict and addressing the humanitarian crisis immediately. They also reaffirmed their commitment to a durable two-state solution.

Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan reiterated the need to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.  The United States and Türkiye relaunched the Türkiye-U.S. Counterterrorism Consultations during the Strategic Mechanism to expand cooperation against terrorism and addressing related networks engaged in organized crime and drug trafficking, as threats to their respective national security.  The Secretary reiterated the United States’ condemnation of the PKK terrorist organization, DHKP-C, as well as ISIS/DAESH targeting Türkiye and Turkish interests.  The United States and Türkiye reiterated their shared commitment to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS/DAESH in Syria and Iraq and discussed cooperation to counter the threat of ISIS/DAESH and al-Qa’ida affiliates present in Africa and Central Asia.

Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan discussed all aspects of the Syrian crisis and reiterated the commitment of the United States and Türkiye to a Syrian-led, Syrian-owned political process in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254.  Türkiye and the United States reiterated the importance of the repatriation of ISIS affiliated detainees and displaced persons from northeast Syria to their countries of origin, where they can be rehabilitated and reintegrated into their communities of origin, and, as appropriate, brought to justice.

The two sides also addressed broader issues in the Middle East and Africa, including the need to build regional stability and connections through increased economic and security cooperation.

Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan discussed the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and underscored the importance of preserving stability and channels for communication.  The Secretary welcomed ongoing engagement between Türkiye and Greece, including the Fifth High-Level Cooperation Council in December 2023, in Athens and the signing of a Türkiye-Greece Declaration on Friendly Relations and Good Neighborliness.

On the South Caucasus, Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan committed to work together to promote a balanced and lasting peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and concurred that this would promote regional stability, cooperation, and welfare.

Looking ahead to the 75th NATO Summit in Washington, Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan discussed ways to bolster NATO coordination and solidarity in the face of current threats and challenges.  They reaffirmed their long-standing commitment to collective defense as Allies, as well as to NATO’s Open Door Policy.  As NATO’s two largest armed forces, both sides reiterated the importance of our commitments, as well as our renewed, two-way defense trade relationship to enhance capabilities, ensure interoperability and increase the strength of our collective security.  The two ministers welcomed Sweden’s accession as the 32nd NATO Ally that will strengthen the Alliance and Euro-Atlantic security.

Looking forward, Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan discussed opportunities to transform the U.S.-Türkiye security and defense relationship to build upon each country’s significant capabilities and innovation to meet strategic challenges and opportunities.  In this regard, they announced the U.S.-Türkiye Defense Trade Dialogue would meet in 2024 and both countries would pursue opportunities to advance defense industrial cooperation.

Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan appreciated the continuous growth in U.S.-Türkiye-bilateral trade, which has reached over 30 billion.  They reaffirmed the importance of expanding economic and commercial cooperation and building upon existing bilateral fora—such as the Digital Dialogue, held on March 4 in Türkiye—to broaden and deepen our economic cooperation.  The two sides discussed capitalizing on financing opportunities under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment to create high standards for infrastructure in developing nations.  Both sides endorsed an Energy and Climate Dialogue (ECD), which will be launched and co-chaired by the U.S. Department of Energy and Türkiye’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources together with the participation of the U.S. State Department and Türkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  The ECD will advance energy security and the energy transition in both countries and cooperation on climate change. Both sides acknowledged, particularly in light of net zero targets, the growing importance of civil nuclear energy, both conventional and Small Modular Reactors, developed to the highest standards of safety, security, and nonproliferation, and encouraged Turkish and US public and private sectors to explore opportunities and develop concrete proposals for cooperation in this field.

Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan also recognized people-to-people relations between the two countries as one of the pillars of the bilateral relationship.  This year’s 75th anniversary of the U.S.-Türkiye Fulbright program is illustrative of this connection.  The two sides acknowledged the 2021 Cultural Property Agreement through which 72 Turkish cultural and historic artifacts have been returned to Türkiye since the Agreement’s entry into force as a reference point for the strength of our partnership.

Secretary Blinken and Minister Fidan welcomed their opportunity to use the Strategic Mechanism to build a positive, forward-looking, strategic vision to advance shared objectives.  The two sides look forward to the continued advancement of the U.S.-Turkish strategic relationship and welcomed increased bilateral meetings.

End Text.

Counterterrorism

Targeting Qods Force Deputy Commander and Houthi-Affiliated Supporters

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

The United States is today designating the Deputy Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), a Houthi-affiliated operative who has supported the Houthis’ aggressive actions, and the owner and operator of a vessel used to ship Iranian commodities in support of both the Houthis and IRGC-QF.

We are taking this action in coordination with the United Kingdom through our bilateral partnership in the global fight against terrorism.  This action follows the recent U.S. designation of Ansarallah (commonly known as the Houthis) as a Specifically Designated Global Terrorist due to its unprecedented attacks on international maritime commerce in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

Separately, the United States is designating two additional companies that own and operate a vessel involved in shipping over $100 million in Iranian commodities on behalf of Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).  MODAFL continues to facilitate the delivery of Iranian weapons, most notably unmanned aerial vehicles, to Russia in support of its war of aggression in Ukraine and to Iran-aligned militia groups in the Middle East.

The United States and its allies remain committed to countering terrorist financing and will continue to use all available means to disrupt Houthi attacks on international shipping in the region.

The Department of the Treasury designations were taken pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as amended. For more information on today’s action, see Treasury’s press release and press release.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, And Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar At the Munich Security Conference

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Munich, Germany

Bayerischer Hof

MODERATOR:  (In progress) for Germany.  Welcome.  (Applause.)

Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the U.S.  (Applause.)  Nice to have you.

And Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs, Republic of India.  Minister.  (Applause.)

I hope that based on the topic of the session that you will not all agree with each other and we can have some sparks.  We have about 43 minutes, and I will prepare your questions because I’ll ask a few questions and then I’ll turn to the audience.

Minister Baerbock, I’m going to start with you.  Germany’s national security strategy calls for expanding global partnerships and is quite open about the multipolarity of the world today.  How do you go about it at a time when there are so many divisions, and particularly when increasingly we feel the Global South and the Western world are not on the same page?

FOREIGN MINISTER BAERBOCK:  Well, first of all, good afternoon.  Very good to have this important session with my dear colleagues.

In a nutshell, it’s more important than ever.  Because we are not naïve:  Obviously, there are ruthless actors who don’t want to – to drub up the title of our panel – negotiate the slice of the pie, but they want to rob the whole bakery.  And having that in mind, I believe it’s even more important than ever that those who are at the table negotiating about the slices of the pie stay there, first of all, resolute, respectfully, and also reflective.  And this is the core also of our national security strategy, which we have drafted as the German government, making very clear in the light of this ruthless war of aggression against Ukraine that we are resolute in defending international law.  It’s the best protection for everybody around the world.

So there is no question about negotiating whether Ukraine has right of self-defense or not.  We all agreed not only – I don’t like that word, but “Western” actors – we all agreed in our Charter of the United Nations there is the right of self-defense, and we all agreed on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Having said that, obviously we have to be respectful that especially within Ukraine – and I think this is the lesson we have learned, and it was very important to speak to partners like India and so many around the world – Brazil, South Africa – we have to be respectful that obviously, in this moment when we said we need the whole international security, others asked some questions, like:  Where have you been when we needed you?  Or asked some question, so actually what does it mean for the future?  Do you also stand with us?  And this is, I would say, maybe something you in the attitude – at least from our foreign politics from Europe to say, okay, we cannot take for granted that everybody just agrees with our European or transatlantic vision.

And the third part, I think it’s the most easy, but it’s the strongest asset for democracies.  The strength of democracy, in my point of view, is that we can be self-reflective and self-critical.  So asking in a moment when others – for example, war of aggression – were not saying automatically, okay, we support you, not saying why don’t you get it, but asking ourself why they cannot support us.

And I think this is the critical part but the most powerful part, and at least, again, in our national security strategy we try to do it, talking about, for example, our colonialism past.  Understanding why South Africa was mentioning the whole time their ties with Russia in the Apartheid regime.  And being self-critical and saying, oh, yeah, not all democracies have stood back in time at their side, and taking that as something where we said, yes, we might have made a mistake in the past, but we cannot change the past; we can only change the future together.  I think this is the strength of multilateralism, and we see around the world the majority believes in it.

MODERATOR:  Do you find that increasingly people are questioning more when it comes to – let’s stick to Ukraine and we’ll get to Gaza in a minute.  But on Ukraine, are people coming around to your point of view or are they distancing themselves more?

FOREIGN MINISTER BAERBOCK:  Well, to see it over the least three years, I mean, we have seen the 142 voting in the General Assembly, so it is a majority of states.  Because most of the countries in the world, like mine – we’re not the biggest country in the world; we don’t have the biggest military means.  And this is for most of the countries:  They know that the Charter of the United Nations, the rule of law is their life insurance.

So we see this big majority there when you see also the support.  Many have traveled – and I think this is really important to give always the question of war of aggression a human face.  It was not that we convinced some other actors in the world by saying now you have to stand with that, but when a delegation traveled to Kyiv – and not only Kyiv, to Bucha, to Irpin – when they spoke, like we did, to the parents of those where their child had been kidnapped by Russia, then we give this ideation a human face, and that’s all about.  And this is why it’s so important to not only talk about state, but we talk about the people, talk about also the question of the rule of law in front of the International Criminal Court, for example, bringing crimes against humanity in front of the court.  And there we see again the majority of the states is pushing for that one.

MODERATOR:  Secretary Blinken, there is a – there is a feeling that – it’s more than a feeling, it’s what we see on – happening on the ground, that the U.S.-China tensions are leading to greater fragmentation and that you’re almost competing for alliances:  who’s our ally?  And we see this within the UN, in various UN institutions, but we just see it all around the globe.  To what extent do you feel that you are challenged in your travels around the world on the fundamental questions?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, first, it’s wonderful to be with my friends, wonderful to be back in Munich at the Security Conference, known among all of us as speed dating for diplomats.  (Laughter.)

But we’ve done a couple of things, and I’ll come quickly to your question.  From the start of this administration, we’ve made an investment, a reinvestment, in our alliances, in our partnerships, and in the multilateral system.  We’ve reinvested, we’ve re-engaged, we’ve tried to rejuvenate, we’ve even reimagined.  And the reason for that is simple:  it’s because it’s in our interest to do it.  Not a single one of the challenges that we have to face and that are so important to the interests of the American people can we effectively deal with alone, as powerful and as resourceful as we are.  And so across the board, we’ve seen our comparative advantage as having a strong network of voluntary alliances, voluntary partnerships.  And if you’re not at the table in the international system, you’re going to be on the menu.  So it was very important for us to re-engage multilaterally, and we’ve done that.

When it comes to strategic competition – and there’s no doubt that we have one with China – there are a few things to be said.  First, we have an obligation to manage that relationship responsibly, and I think that’s something that we hear from countries around the world, and it’s clearly in our interest to do so, and that’s exactly what President Biden is doing.  And when it comes to other countries, the point is not to say to country X, Y, or Z, “You have to choose;” the point is to offer a good choice.  And if we can do that – and I believe we can and we have and will continue – then I think the choice becomes fairly self-evident.

Over the last six or seven months, we have engaged in a sustainable way with China.  I just met my counterpart Wang Yi here in Munich, but that follows a series of meetings, notably and most importantly President Biden and President Xi, and I think we’ve brought greater stability to the relationship, not moving away from or ignoring the fact that, yes, we have a competition, there are areas where we are contesting each other, but there are also areas where we can and should cooperate because it’s in our interest to do that.

One of the best examples of that is the agreement reached with China on fentanyl.  The single largest – the number one killer, number one killer of Americans aged 18 to 49 is the synthetic opioid, fentanyl.  Now we have meaningful cooperation from and with China on fentanyl.  That’s going to make a difference in the lives of Americans.

MODERATOR:  And do you think it is sustainable to have cooperation on – in some areas, climate being one of them, but to have a strategic competition – the strategic competition that defines geopolitics today and that will go on for a very long time?  Do you think that that is sustainable that both sides sort of can find rules of engagement?  This is where we compete and this is where we cooperate?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Some fundamentals haven’t changed.  Countries will act in their self-interest.  Where we have to compete, we will.  Where we have to contest, we will.  Where it makes sense to cooperate, we will.  And I think you can do all of the above at the same time.

But there’s something else that’s, I think, changed, and it goes back to the first part of the question.  The very fact that we’ve re-engaged and rejuvenated as well as reimagined some of our alliances and partnerships, along with the investments that we’ve made at home in the United States – the investments we’ve made in our infrastructure, the investments we’ve made in science and technology and chips, the building blocks of the 21st century economy, the investments we’ve made in climate technology – you put those two things together:  investments at home, much greater alignment with partners and allies across the board in Europe, in the Indo-Pacific, in Asia on how to approach a question as complicated as relations with China – that puts us in a position of much greater strength in dealing with all of the challenges that we have to deal with.

MODERATOR:  Minister Jaishankar, India has more of a multiple-choice mindset.  Is – would that be – would that be right?  From nonalignment to – I think you may have called it or somebody else called it “all-alignment.”  So you can pick and choose alliances, but you can also pick and choose topics.  On Russia, for example, you still buy Russian oil.  Is that okay with your counterpart from the U.S.?  Everything is – your relationship is fine?  You can do whatever you want whenever you want?  (Laughter.)

FOREIGN MINISTER JAISHANKAR:  Okay.  First of all —

MODERATOR:  I mean, you’re sitting next to each other, so —

FOREIGN MINISTER JAISHANKAR:  No, no.  First of all, delighted to be here, and I couldn’t find a better set of people to be with on the stage.  So thank you for whoever put us on together.

Your question:  Do we have multiple options?  The answer is yes.  Is that a problem?  Why should it be a problem?  If I’m smart enough to have multiple options, you should be admiring me, you shouldn’t be criticizing me.  (Laughter and applause.)

Now, is that a problem for other people?  I don’t think so.  I don’t think so, certainly in this case and in that case.  Because, look, we try to explain what are the different pulls and pressures which countries have.  And it’s very hard to have a unidimensional relationship.  Now, again, different countries and different relationships have different histories.  If I were to look, say, between the U.S. and Germany, it is rooted – there’s an alliance nature to it; there’s a certain history on which that relationship is grounded.  In our case it’s very different.

So I don’t want you to even inadvertently give the impression that we are purely and unsentimentally transactional.  We are not.  We get along with people.  We believe in things, we share things, we agree on some things.  But there are times when you’re located in different places, have different levels of development, different experiences – all of that gets into it.  So life is complicated.  Life is differentiated.  And I think it’s very important today not to reduce the entire complexity of our world into very sweeping propositions.  I think that era is today behind us.

So I agree very much with what Tony said, which is good partners provide choices.  Smart partners take some of those choices.  But sometimes there will be choices on which you say, well, I think I’ll pass up on that one.

MODERATOR:  It’s a very good point, which brings me to the BRICS and the rise of middle powers, because that is one of the shifts that we see today.  To what extent do you think that that is a challenge to the West, or maybe that can be sort of the bridge, especially in a world where we will see continued competition between the U.S. and China?  And I’m going to ask Minister Jaishankar first and – but I’d love for both of you to comment as well.

FOREIGN MINISTER JAISHANKAR:  Yeah, I thought maybe the BRICS one you wanted the U.S. to —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  After you, Jai, please.  (Laughter.)

FOREIGN MINISTER JAISHANKAR:  But look, again, I think it’s important to go back to how it began.  The BRICS started in an era where Western dominance was very strong.  The premier gathering of the world was the G7, and you had a number of significant powers in the world who felt that, well, they were not part of the G7 but maybe they also brought value to the table by sitting and discussing with others.

So in a sense you had a collection of these countries.  It was originally four; South Africa joined later.  And if you look at it, it’s a very interesting group because it’s geographically as disparate as it can be.  Yet it is bound by the fact that these discussions we’ve had over a decade and a half have been very useful for all of us.

Now, like any product, you test it in the market at some point.  We tested it last year and asked people, so how many of you want to join BRICS?  And we got almost 30 countries who were willing to join BRICS.  So clearly, if 30 countries saw value in it, there must be something good we have done.

So I think it’s important today to make a distinction between being non-West and anti-West.  I would certainly characterize India as a country which is non-West, but which has an extremely strong relationship with Western countries getting better by the day.  Not everybody else necessarily in that grouping might qualify for that description.

But the contribution the BRICS has made – if one looks at the G7 and how it evolved into the G20, I think in a way those additional 13 members who came into this bigger grouping, five of them are BRICS members.  The fact that there was another group which was meeting regularly and discussing and debating I think certainly was an input into the expansion of the G7 into the G20.  So I think we did a service to the world.

MODERATOR:  Yeah.  Secretary Blinken?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I’m tempted to say what my friend said and leave it at that.  Look, the – what we don’t need to do and what we’re not doing is trying to somehow design the world into rigid blocks.  Each and every one of the issues that we have to deal with, and deal with in the interests of the American people, may have different collections and coalitions of countries that are focused on it, that bring certain experiences, certain capacities, and I think about it as variable geometry.  We’re putting together a puzzle with collections of countries, and not just countries, organizations of different sizes and different shapes to deal with a given problem.

As Jai said, we have – and of course the fact that the relationship between our countries, I would argue, is the strongest it’s ever been, it makes no difference that India happens to be a leading member of BRICS.  We’re a leading member of the G7.  We have the G20 and we have a multiplicity of things that we’re doing together every single day in different ways of organizing ourselves.  India and the United States working together in AUKUS, working together – I mean, excuse me, in the Quad, working together in a variety of other fora.  All of this goes to the point that the complexity and the multiplicity of the challenges that we have demands that we find different ways to work together, and this shouldn’t be done on an exclusive basis.

Look, our default, of course, is to work in the first instance with fellow democracies.  That’s only normal and natural.  But we are not only willing, we are actively working with any country that wants to solve a particular problem and wants to do so within the context of a rules-based order.  That’s the way we approach things.

MODERATOR:  Speaking of a rule-based order, major powers today are criticized for sort of upholding the rule-based order and upholding values in certain areas but not in others, and a lot of people around the world – and particularly in the Global South but I would say not only in the Global South; even within our Western democracies – are confused.  They look at what’s happening in Gaza and at the intensity of the killing, and they ask:  Where are human rights?  Where are these Western values?  I’m sure you’re having here today and yesterday a lot of similar discussions, Minister Baerbock.

FOREIGN MINISTER BAERBOCK:  Yes, and they are so productive because many of them are not only speed dating, but behind closed doors, very trustfully.  And I think the most important job for those who believe in a rules-based international order, be it politicians, be it journalists, be it citizens, is to not be pushed into this speed dating, into this black-and-white world in all of our bubbles.  Because easily – and this is a double-standard question, yeah – if you only look – and you mentioned the situation in Gaza.  If I only see the whole time on YouTube what’s happening in Gaza, and I do that every second day – every day I cannot stand it because otherwise I couldn’t get out of my bed anymore – yeah, your reality is obviously – the only thing what we can and have to do right now is to go in a total ceasefire to rescue these innocent children dying there every day.  Yeah?

So, and you’re 100 percent right by that.  But the question is to really come to this reality is to force myself – not myself, but all these persons who are saying this is the moral right thing to do – to then also ask:  So how do we come to that?  And this is then when some might ask:  So why you, German foreign minister, didn’t call for immediate ceasefire the last – months ago?  Because I also looked at the other side, at the other YouTube videos, at the other bubbles, yeah, where we saw, I saw for days after the 7th of October – I didn’t only see it, I spoke to the father whose wife and two little girls had been kidnapped by terrorists from Hamas.  I saw the video where women have been not only raped, but murdered afterwards.  And in that moment for me it was clear, again, that we can also not only relate to the past saying, okay, we know how negotiations about – with terrorists are working.  Because if you saw that video and if you were ready to see this woman suffering there, you understand that this is not only a military logic.  Because those people who are doing this, raping a woman and killing her afterwards, they don’t want to exchange soldiers for political prisoners.  They enjoy slaughtering women.

I’m saying that because I think this is really important, bringing it down to the people.  Because then you understand in this kind of situation, how do we come now to a ceasefire?  That the release of hostages, the release of these women is crucial because otherwise we can never save the children in Gaza.

So this comes all back to what my dear colleague Jaishankar has said.  If we are not capable of stepping out of right or wrong, yes or no, black or white, we will in this world of dilemmas never do what our job – I would say the three of us here – is:  to do all the best to rescue people.  And this is why we have been working so intensively for those partners, Arab partners, in the last three months to see how we can come together for the most important point right now:  freeing the hostages, having a humanitarian pause to bring in humanitarian support into Gaza, and not stopping even though the headlines are there every day:  You cannot fix it anyhow.

I think the biggest favor for those who do not care for human rights and the international order is that we are giving up and that we are not being ready to look at these different topics from our different side.  And this is why – at least for me; I would say for all the three of us – use our competences, use our channels we are having.  And there again diversity is beneficial.  If we are not all the same, but if we are trying to solve this horrible war in the Middle East from our different perspectives, then we can also bring security both for the people in Israel and the people in Gaza.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I have to say I fully subscribe – (applause) – fully subscribe to everything that Annalena said.  And I think as people in positions, for a brief period of time, of responsibility, but also, and maybe foremost, as human beings – as mothers, fathers, children, brothers, and sisters – we’re intensely driven to try to prevent or stop human suffering, including the suffering of men, women, and children in Gaza.  The question is how to do it most effectively and how to take account of the incredible complexity that Annalena just outlined so well.

But there’s another element to this that we have a responsibility to do something about.  The greatest poison in our common well is dehumanization.  And we see that in all directions.  And if you lose sight of the humanity of someone else, then your heart is hardened to a point where anything is acceptable and anything is possible.  Part of our responsibility is to do what we can to push back, to avoid, to call out dehumanization wherever it’s coming from, in whatever direction.  Because if we can’t get at that, it’s very hard, if not impossible, to do other things.

MODERATOR:  One other criticism that I think I’m sure you hear a lot is U.S. policy has, of course, shifted in the last couple of months, but yet you want the fighting to stop, but there is no sign whatsoever that you’re not willing to send weapons to Israel, for example.  So that also confuses people.  When they look at the rhetoric versus the action, what would you say to that?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, first, we’re committed to Israel’s security.  That’s been clear from day one.  It remains clear.  And we understand and support the proposition that Israel has to find ways to make sure that what happened on October 7th never happens again.  (Applause.)  So we start there.

But we’ve also said – and not only said, we’ve acted on the proposition – that, of course, the way Israel does that matters profoundly.  The way it does it in terms of trying to ensure greater protection for civilians who are caught in a crossfire of Hamas’s making.  That’s absolutely essential.  Making sure that people in need get the assistance they need.  We are working on this every single day.  And as we’ve seen this evolve over the last four months, things have happened as a result of our engagement, our intervention, that I would say probably would not have happened, almost certainly wouldn’t have happened without it.  But it’s not enough; it’s insufficient.  And that’s why we’re at it almost, literally, 24 hours a day.

FOREIGN MINISTER BAERBOCK:  May I add one thing on that?

MODERATOR:  What is – yes, sure.

FOREIGN MINISTER BAERBOCK:  Because for the full picture – and this is what we are discussing, and this is a good thing.  In these horrible times, I’m always trying to see the glimpse of hope at the horizon.  The good thing is that over the last three months, yeah, all these discussions were helpful in a way.  First we didn’t have any humanitarian support; now we have at least a few trucks – not enough trucks.  But also from the other understanding – and this is why I totally agree with the security guarantees for Israel – you cannot just say we need a ceasefire and the Israeli government, the IDF has to stop, and then we just wait and see what happens through the regrouping of Hamas.  No, we have to give an answer to both legitimate security concerns.

So our part of discussion is, for example, in the north, yeah?  If people go back to the north, how do we as an international community secure that Hamas is not regrouping there, using, misusing against civilians as human protection shield?  And this is also part of our common international security response.  (Applause.)

MODERATOR:  Minister Jaishankar, what is the view from India?  What would you – if you had some advice for your colleagues, what would you be – what would you tell them?

FOREIGN MINISTER JAISHANKAR:  Well, I don’t have advice for my colleagues, though I – particularly, I think all of us follow the enormous efforts which Tony is putting in right now.  But look, the way we look at it, there are different dimensions, different elements to this.

Number one, we must be clear that what happened on October 7th was terrorism.  No caveats, no justification, no explanation.  It was terrorism.

Number two, as Israel responds, it is important that Israel should be – should have been very mindful of civilian casualties, that it has an obligation to observe international humanitarian law.

Number three, the return of hostages is today imperative.

Number four, there is a need for a humanitarian corridor, a sustainable humanitarian corridor to provide relief.  And eventually, there has to be a permanent fix, a long-term fix, otherwise we’re going to see a recurrence.

And I think today, suddenly – India has long believed in a two-state solution; we have maintained that position for many decades.  And I think today, many more countries in the world today feel not just that a two-state solution is necessary, but it is more urgent than it was before.

MODERATOR:  Let me take a couple of questions.  I think there is a gentleman there, and then there and there.  Okay, three.  Let’s take – let’s take all three questions.  Actually, we’ll take four questions very quickly.

PARTICIPANT:  Four is here?

MODERATOR:  Yes, four is there.

QUESTION:  Nathalie Tocci, Rome.  A question – in fact, both to Secretary Blinken and to Foreign Minister Baerbock.  I mean, the logic of the argument of being somewhat reticent on pushing for a ceasefire, as far as I understand, is basically that of saying, well, one needs to make sure that what happened on the 7th of October does not happen again.  And so the question that I ask you is, do you think that what is happening now, what has happened over the last four months, will actually reduce the chances of what happened on the 7th of October happening again?  Will it actually make Israel more secure or not?

MODERATOR:  Okay, so there is —

FOREIGN MINISTER BAERBOCK:  And I (inaudible).

MODERATOR:  Okay, so I thought that question was that side, but okay.

QUESTION:  Okay, thank you very much.  Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of the parliament of Ukraine.  Secretary Blinken, you said those who are not at the table are in the menu.  Ukraine was at the table in Budapest when we voluntarily gave up our nuclear weaponry.  Now we are in the menu.  So the question is, what is the way for us?  We are confronted with a nuclear power.  Either we will become a member of NATO Alliance with a nuclear power or we should restore our nuclear status.  I don’t see any other option.  What option do you prefer and what you will answer on this?  Thank you very much.

MODERATOR:  Okay.  There’s a question here, question there, and then we’ll do one round.  Would that be okay?

PARTICIPANT:  Do you want me to get —

MODERATOR:  Yes, I mean, I have said – yeah, here we go.

QUESTION:  Thank you.  My name is Shafik Gabr, from Egypt.  My question is to Secretary Blinken.  You’ve invested an incredible amount of time trying to bring a settlement in the issue of Gaza, and at the very same time we all feel in the region that things can spill over in a very dramatic way.  Especially, there are many excuses of why not to have a solution, but to do things step by step.  That is not going to work.  So my question to you is, sir, why, with all the countries, including the United States, including the UK, just what Cameron has just said, proclaiming a two-state solution is not something the United States puts on the floor now and be able to achieve that?

MODERATOR:  Okay, thank you.  Thank you.  Finally, there’s a question there, and then I’m afraid —

QUESTION:  I have a loud voice; I don’t need a microphone.  Hello, my name is Masih Alinejad.  I’m an Iranian troublemaker for mullahs, and I have a simple question.  We cannot talk about global security by forgetting about Iran, by burying the human rights abuses under the carpet.  I am here today with a woman who was in the front line of last year’s uprising.  She was shot in her eye; she lost her eyes because of the Revolutionary Guards.  So my question is very clear:  How we can reach to peace and security in the world without designating the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, which the United States of America did that – thanks – but why the allies are not following the United States?  The democratic countries are not as united as autocracy, because Islamic Republic is helping Putin, is helping Hamas, all the proxies in Yemen.  So as we see, unfortunately, dictators are more united than democratic countries.  Do you have any common strategy to isolate Islamic Repulbic and address Khamenei and his gang of killers the way that you address Putin?  Thank you so much.

MODERATOR:  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  All three of you, you can pick the question you want to answer.  I know one was directed – a couple were directed at Secretary Blinken.  So maybe —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Want me to start?

MODERATOR:  Maybe you start.  Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good.  So to the question, is Israel more secure now after – four months after October 7th, I think the answer is, in the near term, in the immediate, yes it is, in terms of dealing with the immediate threat, the horrific terrorist group that attacked it in the most unimaginable ways on October 7th.  Is it more secure for the long term?  That’s a different question.  Because the fundamental question we have to ask ourselves is – and Jai mentioned this – how do we make sure that the cycle one way or another doesn’t repeat itself, whether it’s a year from now, five years from now, or 10 years from now?

I think there’s an extraordinary opportunity before Israel in the months ahead to actually once and for all end that cycle.  And it’s because there are some new facts that didn’t exist before when there were efforts to make peace between Israelis and Palestinians, starting with the fact that virtually every Arab country now genuinely wants to integrate Israel into the region, to normalize relations if they haven’t already done so, to provide security assurances and commitments so that Israel can feel more safe and more secure.  At the same time, there are genuine efforts underway led by Arab countries to reform, revitalize, revamp the Palestinian Authority so that it can be more effective in representing the interests of the Palestinian people and could be a better partner for Israel in that future.  And there’s also, I think, the imperative that Jai mentioned that’s more urgent than ever:  to proceed to a Palestinian state, one that also ensures the security of Israel and makes the necessary commitments to do so.

If you put all of that together, you have an integrated region where people are actually working together for the common good, a region in which Israel is secure in ways that it’s never been before, and where the number one threat to its security as well as the security of many of us – just alluded to in the last question, Iran – is isolated along with all of its proxies.  That future, that path is there, it’s clear, it’s hard, it’s complicated, but it’s real.

The alternative is an endless repetition of the cycle that we’ve seen year after year, decade after decade, generation after generation.  It’s incumbent upon all of us who have relationships with and responsibility for different countries in the region, things that we bring to the table ourselves, to make the hard decisions, do the difficult things to actually make that path clear, real, and one that – whose attraction is overwhelmingly powerful.  I think the more we’re able to do that and the more we distinguish between that path and the alternative, the greater the chance we’ll actually see movement in that direction.

I’ll say just very quickly on Ukraine, I think you’ve heard throughout this conference, including by the fact that we have an extraordinary delegation from the United States Congress here – Republicans, Democrats, Senate, House – that there is enduring support for Ukraine, and that’s not just from the United States, it’s from country after country in Europe and well beyond, for a whole variety of reasons, starting of course with the aggression that the Ukrainians have suffered, but also because that aggression has gone to the very principles at the heart of the international system that each of us has a stake in preserving, and that’s not going away.

So there’s a tremendous determination on the part of dozens of countries to do two things.  First, to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to deal in the immediate with the ongoing Russian aggression; but second, to put Ukraine on a path where increasingly in the months and years to come it’s able to stand strongly on its own two feet militarily, economically, and democratically.  That is the strongest possible rebuke to Putin.  It’s the strongest possible rebuke to all those who would seek to undermine Ukraine.

And I’ll just conclude with this:  The real lesson to be drawn from what we’ve seen – including, as you rightly said, Russia tearing up and then spitting on the Budapest Memorandum, among many, many other agreements – is that this aggression against Ukraine has been an absolute strategic debacle for Vladimir Putin and for Russia.  Russia is weaker militarily, it’s weaker economically, it’s weaker diplomatically.  Europe has ended its energy dependence on Russia in the space of two years.  Ukrainians are more united than they’ve ever been, including against Russia, which was not the case certainly in 2014 – not desirable, but it’s the result of Russia’s actions – and certainly since 2022.  We have the NATO Alliance, a defensive Alliance with no intent of ever attacking Russia, only there to defend its members, that is now stronger and larger.  All of this a result of actions that Russia has taken, precipitating the very things it said it wanted to prevent.

So I think as those lessons are digested, not to mention the horrific losses that Russia has suffered as a result of Vladimir Putin throwing its young men into a meatgrinder of his own making, I think the more those lessons are digested, the more you’re going to see that this is not repeated.  But that requires all of us to maintain the solidarity that we’ve demonstrated with Ukraine, a solidarity that is important not just for Ukraine, but for all of us.  The stakes couldn’t be higher.

So my belief, again, listening to everyone here over the last couple of days, talking to our members of Congress who are with us, is that not only is that support there, it will be sustained, and Ukraine will succeed.

MODERATOR:  Thank you, Secretary.  Minister Baerbock.

FOREIGN MINISTER BAERBOCK:  Well, I guess the question from Iran was for us.  So the question was, why do you not follow the example and list them as terrorists, in a terrorist sanction regime, the Revolutionary Guard?  We have discussed it quite often, but the quick answer is because I’m defending rule of law, trying without any double standards.  And our legal situation in the European Union – and you can like it or not, but this is how – in which context we are working – in our European legal system, we have a sanction system for listing under terrorism if terrorism occurs in another country, especially in the European Union.  It was after the attacks on the U.S. on the 9th of September.

So we need a legal ground to list them.  So far, we do not have the evidence and proof that there have been these terrorist attacks in the European Union.  There were different cases.  It’s a different legal system in the U.S.

But – and this is important for me because I hear this argument again and again – this is not because we shy away with regard to the Revolutionary Guard or the crimes against women,  youth, civil society, its own population.  No.  We use the instruments we are having as a European Union to defend human rights.  And we set up for the first time in history of the European Union a sanction systems because of human rights violation.  And for me this is even stronger.  In the past, it was the same with Daesh and the crimes against Yezidi women, yeah?  They have been brought to court not slaughtering women, not saying these are the worst sexual violence crimes you commit, but under terrorism.

I think this is wrong.  We have to name the crimes, and the crime is targeted directly to women, directly to human rights.  We say we sanction you because of what you have done to you shooting in your eyes, killing your friends, killing your sisters.  And it’s the same effect.  And this it comes all down to me – for me, politics, it’s not about symbolic action.  It’s about what matters for the people.

And under the sanction system, human rights sanctions from the EU, Revolutionary Guard – we named them – cannot enter the European Union.  We have frozen their assets.  So the result is exactly the same what the U.S. has done under the terrorist sanction system.  So if you’re asking, do we act as a result in the same way?  Yes, we do, but we call it human rights sanction system because these are the worst human rights violations you can see.

And this comes also back to the other question about symbolic politics or what matters in reality.  We would have been at a total different stage if, after the 7th of October – this was a question from Italy – after the 7th of October, we could have had a common resolution.  We were in Cairo at the so-called peace summit together with different countries, many Arab partners, and also from the European Union.  We tried to fix a text where we would say, okay, after these horrible crimes of the 7th of October, there could be the momentum now for whatever generations have dreamt of:  a two-state solution pathway.  But in order to do that, we have to guarantee that the 7th of October never happens again to Israel and we have to guarantee that Palestinians have the security to live in peace and security for them.

Unfortunately, those meeting there together, not everybody was ready to name the 7th of October what it was:  a terrorist attack from Hamas on Israeli people.  And this is why we passed this momentum.  I regret it, but this is how life is.  So now again we have to work again if we now, after four months where we see that the current situation only brings misery for everybody, if we can regroup again.  And this is why what we have described before, for us it’s so important to work together as European Union, as the U.S., with Arab partners to find what we need:  guarantees that Israelis can live forever in security; that the 7th of October can never happen again; and the same counts for Palestinian people – it has to be an irreversible path towards a two-state solution.  And this is our job which we have to do right now, and we can only do it together with the different partners.

Neither the U.S., definitely not Germany, but also not one Arab country alone can go this path.  We have to group and unite together for the peace in the Middle East.  (Applause.)

MODERATOR:  Inshallah, as they would say in the Middle East.  One —

FOREIGN MINISTER JAISHANKAR:  So I’ll just take a minute.

MODERATOR:  One minute, yes.

FOREIGN MINISTER JAISHANKAR:  I think a very large number of countries, especially of the Global South, believe that terrorism shouldn’t be countenanced or justified.  But they equally strongly believe that a two-state solution should not be delayed.  These are not choices.  These are both musts.  And unless we are able to address both these issues, we are not going to really solve the problem.

MODERATOR:  Well, thank you all.  I know that we’ve gone over time, so apologies for that.  And thank you to the audience.  (Applause.)

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Israeli President Isaac Herzog Before Their Meeting

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Munich, Germany

Bayerischer Hof

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good afternoon, everyone.  It’s a great pleasure to once again be with President Herzog.  We admire and rely on his leadership, his wisdom, and his vision.  We’re thinking, of course, of the hostages and doing everything possible to bring them home.  We’re thinking, as we always do, about Israel’s security both today but also for every day, for the long term.  We’re thinking of the suffering of people caught up in the middle of conflict, including the Palestinian men, women, and children in Gaza.  We’re thinking as well of the genuine opportunities that lie before us for a better, more secure future for Israelis, Palestinians, and all of our friends in the region.  There’s a lot of work to be done to move toward that future, but I’m grateful for President Herzog and our work to not only think about it, but to help realize it.

Thank you.  Mr. President.

PRESIDENT HERZOG:  Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary.  It’s always great to meet you and see you.  We thank President Biden for his steadfast support of the state of Israel, for the administration and yourself, in these dire moments.  We are here with a group of family members of the hostages, including people who were – who came back from captivity in Gaza.  And their plight is at our top priority.  We want them back and we’re working with the international community.  We are working with you and the international community on the issue of the humanitarian supply, making sure to upgrade it according to the rules of international humanitarian law whenever and wherever is necessary.

The most important issue, of course, is that if you look at the horizon – I heard your remarks today, and I think that I find them very interesting.  I think there are opportunities; they need to be studied in depth.  However, first and foremost, Israel’s security must be preserved, and for this we have to complete the work of undermining and eradicating the basic infrastructure of Hamas.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you, everyone.

Counterterrorism

Taking Financial Measures Against Iraqi Bank and Designating its Owner

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Designating Supporters of Iran’s Malign Agenda

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Targeting Additional Hamas Financial Networks

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken Remarks to the Press

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Crete, Greece

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good evening, everyone.  So we had, I think, a very productive day of meetings both in Türkiye and here in Greece with both our Turkish and Greek Allies and partners.  We talked about our NATO Alliance, the tremendous solidarity that we have and continue to have in supporting Ukraine against the Russian aggression.  We talked a little about steps to prepare for the NATO Summit that will take place in Washington early this summer.  And we also focused on what both countries have done through the leadership of President Erdogan and Prime Minister Mitsotakis to bring Greece and Türkiye closer together, including the summit meeting that both leaders had just last month.

In Türkiye, we also focused extensively on what Türkiye can do, using its influence, using its ties, to help prevent the conflict in the Middle East from spreading.  And we also talked about the role that Türkiye can play both in the day after for Gaza in terms of the challenging questions of governance, Palestinian-led governance, security, rebuilding, as well as the work that it can do with others to try to produce more lasting, durable peace and security in the region.  In – and of course, in Türkiye we also talked about the final steps in the process to ratify Sweden’s accession to NATO in the coming weeks.

In Greece, here in Souda Bay, first I just want to really express my appreciation to Prime Minister Mitsotakis for welcoming us into his home.  That was very, very meaningful.  Greece, the United States – I’ve been doing this for 30 years.  I can’t think of a time when the partnership, the friendship between our countries, has been stronger.  And we see that manifested in all sorts of ways every single day.

One way that’s being manifested right now is Greece’s participation in Operation Prosperity Guardian to try to ensure that we have freedom of navigation and freedom of commerce in the Red Sea, which is being challenged almost daily by the Houthis.  And Greece is playing a vital role in that along with many other countries.  And we had discussions about that, as well as the remarkable work that’s done here at Souda Bay to make sure that we continue to have a strong platform for ensuring that we can, as necessary, deter aggression around the world.

Leaving – we’re leaving Greece tonight.  We’re now heading back to the Middle East.  This is the fourth time since October 7th that I’ll be in the region, and we’ll be there at what remains an incredibly difficult time for the region in the wake of the October 7th attack on Israel.

As we’ve said from day one, we have an intense focus on preventing this conflict from spreading, and a big part of the conversations we’ll be having over the coming days with all of our allies and partners is looking at the steps that they can take, using the influence and ties that they have to do just that, to make sure that this conflict doesn’t spread.

Second, we’ll be looking at what we can do to maximize the protection for civilians, maximize humanitarian assistance getting in to them, and also to get hostages out of Gaza.  The situation for men, women, and children in Gaza remains dire.  Far too many Palestinians have been killed, especially children.  Far too many remain incredibly challenged in terms of their access to food, to water, to medicine, to the essentials of life.  So it’s imperative that we see a substantial and sustained increase in the assistance that’s getting to them as well as the protection of civilians in general.

Third, we will focus on the steps that remain to make sure that October 7th never happens again and that we get on a path to a sustainable, peaceful, secure future for everyone.  That starts with the work that’s going to be necessary in Gaza itself to rebuild, to have security, to have Palestinian-led governance, and it goes to the longer path, a broader path, toward durable peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike, which for us, as has been the case from day one of this administration, has to include the realization of Palestinian political rights and notably a Palestinian state with security assurances for Israel.

We’ll talk about what the United States can and will do in all of these areas to advance both what needs to happen in Gaza and more broadly what has to happen to build durable peace and security.  We’ll also be talking about what all of our allies and partners can do.  What are they prepared to do to assist in this process?

These are not necessarily easy conversations.  There are different perspectives, different needs, different requirements.  But it is vital that we engage in this diplomacy now both for the sake of the future of Gaza itself, and more broadly for the sake of the future for Israelis and Palestinians and for the region as a whole.  There is clearly a strong desire among the majority of people in the region for a future that is one of peace, of security, of de-escalation of conflicts, of integration of countries, and that’s one path.  That’s one future.  The other future is an endless cycle of violence, a repetition of the horrific events that we’ve seen, and lives of insecurity and conflict for people in the region, which is what virtually no one wants.

So the work that needs to be done to get on that first path, the steps that need to be taken, the commitments that countries need to make – this is what we’ll be talking about in the days ahead.

Happy to take some questions.  Matt, over to you.

QUESTION:  Yes, yes, thank you.  Mr. Secretary, in terms of today, what specifically did you ask for or did you explore with the Turks as it relates to, one, preventing the spread, de-escalation of the conflict that you’d like to see them do; and then second, and then in terms of the day after, and especially on the security and reconstruction?  Did you get any kind of commitment from the Turks that they’re at least willing to consider – even if they didn’t come out and say that they would definitely do something?  So would they do those?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So —

QUESTION:  And then the same thing with the Greeks, or was that less of an issue with the Greeks?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So Matt, what I can tell you is this.  I think from our conversations today it’s clear that Türkiye is prepared to play a positive, productive role in the work that needs to happen the day after the conflict ends, and as well more broadly in trying to find a path to sustainable peace and security.  We had conversations about – about that.  I can’t go into any details except to say, again, they’re clearly prepared to play a productive role.

I think they’re also prepared, as they have been, to use the ties, the influence they have, the relationships they have with some of the critical players and some of the critical countries in the region, to do everything possible to de-escalate and to prevent the conflict from spreading.  Türkiye can play a really vital role in doing that.  That was a big part of our conversation today.  They clearly have a shared interest with us in doing just that, and I’m confident in these conversations that they’re going to make every possible effort.

QUESTION:  In terms of Greece?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  And in terms of the Greeks, we were very focused on a couple of things but particularly the challenge that’s being posed right now by the Houthis to shipping.  I mean, keep this in mind:  90 percent of global commerce every single day is done via shipping.  And when you have a threat that we have now to shipping in the Red Sea by the Houthis, a threat that’s being posed not to any one country but quite literally to dozens of countries who are affected, and in some ways to the entire international community because this has a big effect when shipping is made more difficult.

When ships have to reroute to avoid danger, when insurance rates go up, when the cost of shipping goes up, that means that people are going to be paying more for heating, it’s going to mean they’re going to be paying more for food, we’re going to have disrupted supply chains.  This is a challenge to countries around the world.  And that was reflected in the fact that we had more than 40 countries sign a clear condemnation of what the Houthis are doing.

Greece is playing a critical role, and of course it’s one of the leading shipping countries in the world, so it has a real incentive to uphold this international norm protecting freedom of navigation, protecting freedom of shipping.  It’s participating in Operation Prosperity Guardian.  It’s dedicated a frigate to that.  And that was one of the focuses of our conversation today.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, you talked about preventing this conflict from spreading.  Today, Hizballah launched dozens, maybe even as many as 60, missiles into northern Israel.  Israel responded with air strikes on Hizballah targets in southern Lebanon.  Is this exactly the kind of expansion, escalation that you’re talking about, and how is the United States going to respond to this and talk to U.S. allies to handle this?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We’ll be talking to all of our partners, including of course Israel, about this.  From day one, as I said, we’ve been working to make sure the conflict doesn’t spread.  One of the areas of real concern is the border between Israel and Lebanon, and we want to do everything possible to make sure that we don’t see escalation there.

But it’s very important that Israelis have security in the north.  Tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes in northern Israel because of the threat posed by Hizballah.  We are looking at ways diplomatically to try to defuse that challenge, that tension, so that people can return to their homes, that they can live in peace and security, and this is something that we’re very actively working on.  It’s going to be part of the discussions we have over the coming days not just in Israel but some of the other countries concerned.

QUESTION:  Did you specifically talk about today’s attack in your meetings with the Turkish leaders?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Not in any detail, but we were focused on a whole series of challenges that we have to stability, to peace and security, and again, the role that Türkiye can play in trying to make sure that we don’t see escalation, that we prevent the conflict from spreading, that other fronts are not open.

And I think it’s clearly in the interest of virtually all of the countries in the region to make sure that that doesn’t happen, and we want to make sure that countries who feel that way are also using their ties, using their influence, using their relationships with some of the actors that might be involved, to keep a lid on things to make sure that we’re not seeing the spread of conflict, escalation.  It’s clearly a strongly shared interest, and again, one we’re really going to focus on over the coming days.

QUESTION:  Isn’t it inevitable —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.  Thanks, everyone.

QUESTION:  — after the attack in Beirut?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Andrea.

QUESTION:  Isn’t it an inevitable reaction to the attack in Beirut and the assassination?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Nothing is inevitable because countries are always going to calculate what their interests are.  And I think again, from the perspective of Israel, it’s clearly not interested and does not want escalation.  That’s been made clear, again, from the start.  But they also are – have to be fully prepared to defend themselves and defend the rights of their people to live in their own country in their own homes.

But we know that this is not what Israel wants or seeks.  It’s not what we want or seek.  I know from Lebanon’s perspective, it’s not in the interest of Lebanon to see any escalation.  So the question is, in large part, Hizballah and what actions it will take, and how countries that have a relationship with Hizballah that may have some influence can use those relationships, use that influence, to try to keep things in check, and meanwhile, for us to use our own diplomacy to see if we can find a way to produce some more sustained calm in northern Israel and southern Lebanon.

Thanks.  Thank you.

Counterterrorism

Rewards for Justice: Reward Offer for Information on Hamas Financial Networks

Counterterrorism

United States Hosts Quad Counterterrorism Working Group in Honolulu, Hawaii

Office of the Spokesperson

The Department of State hosted representatives from Japan, Australia, and India for the Quad Counterterrorism Working Group meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii December 19-21, 2023.  Gregory LoGerfo, Acting Principal Deputy Coordinator for Counterterrorism, led the U.S. interagency delegation.

The Quad convenes four like-minded regional partners – the United States, Australia, India, and Japan – to make tangible progress on pressing challenges within the region and support a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive and resilient.

As part of the Quad Counterterrorism Working Group’s efforts, this multi-day event included presentations and a tabletop exercise focused on enhancing Quad cooperation in response to an overwhelming terrorist incident in the Indo-Pacific region.  Discussions included exchanging information on ever-evolving terrorism threats, further developing regional coordination mechanisms, and countering terrorist use of emerging technologies.

Participants explored what capabilities and support the Quad could offer, and how the Quad might coordinate in order to support the existing capacities of Indo-Pacific countries.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Martha Raddatz of ABC This Week

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

QUESTION:  For the latest on the conflict, we’re joined now by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  We appreciate your time this morning, Mr. Secretary.  You had five Democratic senators send a letter to you, the Defense Secretary, the President this week calling for increased accountability for Israel’s use of American weapons.  And yet your State Department is now pushing through the sale of 13,000 rounds of tank ammunition for Israel, bypassing congressional review generally required for foreign arms sales.  Why are you doing that?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Martha, first, we’re trying to do everything we can to ensure that civilians are protected, that humanitarian assistance gets into people who need it in Gaza.  We are deeply, deeply aware of the terrible human toll that this conflict is taking on innocent men, women, and children, and we’re working to minimize that to the greatest extent possible.  When it comes to the weapons that we transfer, the rules that go along with them, those rules apply to Israel as they do to any other country, including the way they’re used and the need, the imperative of respecting international humanitarian law.

In the case of these particular weapons that you mentioned, Israel is in combat right now with Hamas, a group that viciously attacked it on October 7th; that has said that it – given the opportunity, it will repeat October 7th again and again and again; that continues to launch rockets against Israeli civilians.  And we want to make sure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against Hamas.  A small portion of what has been requested is going through on an emergency basis, that is moving quickly so that Israel can have what it needs in hand.  But virtually everything else is going through the regular order, through Congress.  It’s very important that Congress’s voice be heard in this.

QUESTION:  But let me go back to the law you mentioned.  Have you seen anything in the Israel campaign, with thousands and thousands of civilians killed, many, many of those children, that you believe should be investigated or has been investigated?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We are in almost constant discussions with the Israelis about – to ensure that they understand what their obligations are, to make sure that we understand how they are using whatever arms we’re providing to them, as well as more broadly.  I can’t evaluate a specific instance in the moment, but I can tell you we’re looking at everything.

QUESTION:  If you’re continuing to send these weapons without any accounting for how they are used except talking to the Israelis, what other leverage can you use to make sure they take greater care in this campaign?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Martha, we’re focused on two things.  We’re focused on what is their intent and do they have in place – are they taking necessary measures to make sure that they’re acting in adherence with international humanitarian law and international law?  But then also, what are the results?  And as I’ve said before —

QUESTION:  We’ve seen the results.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  — there is a gap between the intent – there is a gap between the intent and the results, and that’s the gap that we’re trying to make sure is closed.  Look, this could be over tomorrow.  This could be over tomorrow if Hamas got out of the way of civilians instead of hiding behind them, if it put down its weapons, if it surrendered.  And what there ought to be as well is a call on part – on behalf of the entire world for Hamas to do just that.  That would stop this tomorrow.  But in the absence of that, Israel has to take steps not only to defend itself against the ongoing attacks from Hamas, but against Hamas’s stated intent to repeat October 7th again and again if given the opportunity.

QUESTION:  And I assume —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I think any country faced with that would have to deal with it.

QUESTION:  And Mr. Secretary, I assume that that answer is the same when it comes to the U.S. being the only country to vote against a UN ceasefire resolution on Friday?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We have been a strong proponent of humanitarian pauses.  In fact, because of our advocacy, because of the work we did, we got pauses, we got pauses on a daily basis, to make sure that people could get out of the way, that humanitarian supplies could get in.  We helped negotiate the longer pause that resulted in the release of more than 110 hostages and that also allowed a doubling of humanitarian assistance that was getting into Gaza.  But when it comes to a ceasefire in this moment, with Hamas still alive, still intact – and again, with the stated intent of repeating October 7th again and again and again – that would simply perpetuate the problem.

And so our focus is on trying to make sure that civilians are protected to the maximum extent possible, that humanitarian assistance gets in to the maximum extent possible.  And again, if Hamas were to put down its weapons tomorrow, surrender tomorrow, this would be over tomorrow.

QUESTION:  Let me go to this wider war.  There were a series of missile attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea this week.  The USS Carney rushed to aid them, ended up shooting down several drones fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.  The Yemeni armed forces now saying they will prohibit the passage of any ships to Israel and consider them a target.  What do you do about that?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, there are a number of things.  First, what we’ve seen coming from the Houthis directed at ships in that area is a threat not just to Israel, not just to us, but to dozens of countries that are engaged in shipping that depend on this corridor for goods moving about every single day.  And this has actually implicated the interests, directly, of well over a dozen countries with crews from all sorts of different places, ships registered and insured in different places.  So this should be and is an international concern.

We are bringing together a group that we’ve already formed and we’re trying to strengthen its work to, on a maritime basis, help protect shipping.  We’ve obviously taken action, including sanctions just this week, against those who are trying to finance the Houthis and their efforts.  And we’ll take whatever other actions are necessary to protect our personnel, to protect our people, as well as to protect shipping.

QUESTION:  Military action?  You have the former commander of CENTCOM saying we’ve given them no reason not to continue their attacks.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Again, we will and we are looking at everything.

QUESTION:  I want to move to Ukraine.  This week you – aid was held up to Ukraine.  How concerned are you about that with winter coming on?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Very concerned.  We need to see this supplemental budget request go through as quickly as possible.  Ukraine has done an extraordinary job in defending against this Russian aggression.  Over the past year, it’s taken back more than 50 percent of its territory.  It’s engaged in a ferocious battle right now along the eastern and southern fronts.  We are running out of resources already in the bank to continue to assist them, and we need them.

I would point out as well that about 90 percent of the security assistance that we provided to Ukraine actually is invested right here in the United States in terms of the production of materials and munitions and weapons that go to the Ukrainians.  It’s right here in America with good jobs.  We have extraordinary burden sharing that I haven’t seen before my own experience, where, for everything that we’ve been providing to the Ukrainians to help them, our European partners and other allies around the world have provided more – military, economic, humanitarian assistance.

So the choice is very clear.  If we do this and help Ukraine sustain the achievements that it’s made, help ensure that Russia continues to suffer a strategic failure in Ukraine, that’s one route to go.  The other route to go is to do something that the only people who are rooting for it are in Moscow and maybe in Tehran and Beijing, which is not to provide this assistance.

QUESTION:   Okay, thank you very much for joining us this morning.  We do appreciate your time again.  Thank you so much.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, Martha.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Jake Tapper of CNN State of the Union

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

QUESTION:  Joining me now is Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  Mr. Secretary, thanks for joining us.  So the U.S. stood alone at the UN Security Council on Friday to block the ceasefire, and the administration is sidestepping Congress to rush more weapons to Israel.  You said this week there is, quote, a “gap between … the intent to protect civilians, and the actual results that we’re seeing on the ground” in Gaza.  Can you describe that gap?  What is Israel doing right now that you think does not demonstrate enough care or protection of Palestinian civilians?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Jake, we think there needs to be a premium put on protecting civilians and making sure that humanitarian assistance can get to everyone who needs it.  And as I said, I think the intent is there, but the results are not always manifesting themselves.  And we see that both in terms of civilian protection and humanitarian assistance.  We want to make sure that as Israel continues this this campaign – because remember, they are dealing with a terrorist organization that engaged in the most vicious possible brutality on October 7th and has made clear that it would do it again and again and again if given the opportunity.  So Israel needs to be able to deal with this, to protect itself, to prevent October 7th from happening again.  But as it does that, it’s imperative that civilians be protected.  And here, the critical thing is to make sure that the military operations are designed around civilian protection and to focus on that.

When it comes to humanitarian assistance, we, as you know, made the argument many weeks ago to get humanitarian assistance in.  It started to flow.  We got it doubled during the humanitarian pause for the hostage releases that we helped to negotiate.  But now what’s critical is this:  Even as Israel has taken additional steps – for example, to designate safe areas in the south; to focus on neighborhoods, not entire cities in terms of evacuating them – what we’re not seeing sufficiently is a couple of things.

One, making sure that the humanitarian operators who are there, starting with the United Nations, performing heroically, that there are deconfliction times, places, and routes so that the humanitarians can bring the assistance that’s getting into Gaza to the people who need it.  Similarly, we need to see the same kind of deconfliction time, pauses, designated routes – plural, not just one – and clarity of communication so that people know when it is safe and where it is safe to move to get out of harm’s way before they go back home.  These are the kinds of things we’re working on every single day, again, to make sure that that gap between intent and result is as narrow as possible.

QUESTION:  The IDF told CNN – I believe Alex Marquardt – earlier today that they estimate they’ve killed about 7,000 Hamas fighters.  When do you anticipate this phase of Israel’s military campaign is going to end?  Obviously, they can’t kill every member of Hamas, and even if they did, 150,000 new ones would show up the next day.  Are the Israelis telling you anything about when this phase is going to wrap up?  Because obviously, the civilian death toll is mounting; it’s unimaginable.  Secretary Austin suggested that Israel might ultimately be facing a strategic defeat by chasing so many Palestinians into the arms of Hamas.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Jake, we have these discussions with Israel, including about the duration as well as how it’s prosecuting this campaign against Hamas.  These are decisions for Israel to make, but Hamas has decisions to make too.  It could get out from hiding behind civilians tomorrow.

QUESTION:  Right.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  It could put down its arms tomorrow, it could surrender tomorrow, and this would be over.

QUESTION:  Right, obviously, but will the U.S. continue to back Israel the way it’s backing Israel right now if this continues for months and months, as opposed to days or weeks?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Again, Israel has to make these decisions.  Of course, everyone wants to see this campaign come to a close as quickly as possible.  But any country faced with what Israel is facing, a terrorist organization that attacked it in the most horrific way possible on October 7th – and as I said, has said repeatedly that it would do it again and again and again – it has to get to the point where it is confident that that can’t be repeated.

But you make another point that’s very important.  When the major military operation is over, this is not over, because we have to have a durable, sustainable peace, and we have to make sure that we’re on the path to a durable, sustainable peace.  From our perspective, I think from the perspective of many around the world, that has to lead to a Palestinian state.  This is – we’re not going to have durable peace, we’re not going to have durable security for Israel unless and until Palestinian political aspirations are met.  And of course, what happens the day after in Gaza itself once the military operation’s – major military operation’s over – that’s also hugely important and urgent to make sure that governance, security, reconstruction, all of that is in place so that there’s no vacuum.

QUESTION:  The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 63 journalists and members of the news media have been killed, 56 of them Palestinian, in this war, presumably, mostly if not entirely by IDF strikes.  Is that acceptable to you?  You’ve made press freedom a hallmark of your term.  How do you explain all these deaths of journalists?  How do the Israelis explain it?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Jake, as I see journalists, including some of your colleagues but also from many other news organizations, putting their lives on the line to just bring the news, bring the facts, bring information to the world, I have extraordinary admiration for what they do, for the courage that they show, and for the vital importance of their mission.  And we want to make sure that, just as every civilian is protected to the greatest extent possible, of course, journalists are too.  And there – when it comes to instances where journalists have been killed, we want to make sure that that’s investigated and we understand what’s happened and there’s accountability.

QUESTION:  Congress is scrambling to reach a deal to pass foreign aid for Ukraine and Israel.  Republicans are insisting on more border funding and new asylum restrictions, that that be added to the bill.  What would it mean for Ukraine and Israel if Congress does not pass any additional support by the end of the year?  And why not agree to tougher border protections, which is an issue of national security as well?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, Jake, the border piece, as you know, is out of my purview.  But I can say this.  I know on day one of this administration, or at least day two, the President put before Congress, I think, a first bill on immigration reform.  Unfortunately, Congress hasn’t acted on that.  In this request for additional funds, there are $6 billion to enhance border security, including having more people, more agents on the border.  So I know that’s very much part of the discussion and something the President’s fully prepared to engage on.

But in terms of what it would mean for Ukraine, what it would mean for Israel, what it would mean for our efforts to be competitive in the Indo-Pacific – I think the only people who’d be happy if this supplemental budget request is not voted on and approved by Congress are sitting in Moscow, sitting in Tehran, sitting in Beijing.  For Ukraine, this is absolutely vital.  They’ve made remarkable progress over the last year in pushing back Russian aggression, taking back more than 50 percent of the territory that was seized since February of 2022.  But they’re in a ferocious battle now in the south and the east.  We are running out of funding for them.

By the way, 90 percent of the assistance, the security assistance that we provided Ukraine, is actually invested right here in the United States to our companies, to our manufacturers.  Similarly, we’ve had extraordinary burden sharing with our allies and partners.  We’ve provided very significant assistance, about $70 billion over the last two years.  Our European friends and partners beyond Europe: more than $110 billion for Ukraine.  So we have the burden sharing that we need.

This is a time to really step up, because if we don’t, we know what happens.  Putin will be able to move forward with impunity, and we know he won’t stop in Ukraine, and he may well end up going after a NATO country.  That would bring us in given our obligations to our NATO Allies.  So here, an ounce of prevention is really worth 10 pounds of cure.

QUESTION:  Antony, as you know, CNN has led the coverage when it comes to the evidence mounting in Israel of rapes and sex crimes committed by Hamas against women and girls, maybe even against men on October 7th.  Why do you think the United Nations and the international community has been so slow to condemn these atrocities?  I can’t think of a real reason – well, let me just put it this way.  I’ve heard antisemitism hypothesized as a reason why the UN and the international community might be so slow to acknowledge this.  What do you think?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Jake, first, I really applaud the extraordinary work of CNN in bringing this to light and bringing this before the world.  You’ve performed a remarkable service in doing that.  As to your question, I don’t have an answer.  I don’t know why countries, leaders, international organizations were so slow to focus on this, to bring it to people’s attention.  I’m glad it’s finally happened.  The atrocities that we saw on October 7th are almost beyond human description or beyond our capacity to digest.  And we’ve talked about them before, but the sexual violence that we saw on October 7th is beyond anything that that I’ve seen either.  So thank you for doing that, and look, I don’t have a good answer to that question.  I think it’s a question that these organizations, these countries need to ask themselves.

QUESTION:  Secretary of State Antony Blinken, thanks for joining us today.  Appreciate it.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, Jake.  Good to be with you.

Counterterrorism

U.S. Takes Action to Further Disrupt Russian Cyber Activities

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Counterterrorism

Terrorist Attack at Mindanao State University in the Philippines

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

The United States condemns in the strongest terms the horrific terrorist attack that occurred today during a Catholic service being held at Mindanao State University in Marawi, the Philippines.  We mourn those killed in the attack, and our thoughts are with the injured.  The United States is in close contact with our Philippine partners and stands with the people of the Philippines in rejecting this act of violence.

Counterterrorism

On the Release of the 2022 Country Reports on Terrorism

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

The Department of State issued the 2022 Country Reports on Terrorism (CRT).  Each year, the CRT provides insight on important issues in the fight against terrorism and helps the United States make informed decisions about policies, programs, and resource allocations as we seek to build counterterrorism capacity and resilience around the globe.

As the United States confronts a diverse and dynamic range of national security challenges, the U.S. government is deploying the full range of CT tools to ensure a sustainable whole-of-government and whole-of-society CT approach with allies and partners around the world.

The 2022 CRT is available on the Department’s website.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Palestinian Authority President Abbas

Counterterrorism

Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu

Counterterrorism

Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Israeli President Herzog

Counterterrorism

Joint Statement on the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh/ISIS Africa Focus Group Meeting

Counterterrorism

Designating Additional Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad Officials and Supporters

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken Remarks to the Press

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

New Delhi, India

Leela Palace

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good afternoon.  So we just had a very productive 2+2 session with Secretary of Defense Austin and our Indian counterparts.  This builds on the important visit that Prime Minister Modi made to the United States followed by President Biden’s visit here for the G20.  And we continue – India and the United States – to deepen our partnership, to deepen our collaboration on everything from emerging technologies to defense to people-to-people ties, as well as our shared diplomacy to try to advance an Indo-Pacific region that’s free, that’s open, that’s prosperous, that’s resilient.

We also discussed the crisis in the Middle East, and we appreciate the fact that, from day one, India strongly condemned the attacks of October 7th.  And as our joint statement makes clear, India and the United States stand with Israel against terrorism.

This marks the last day of what’s now been a nine-day trip of intensive diplomacy throughout the Middle East and now here in the Indo-Pacific.  And along the way and at each stop, in different ways, we’ve sought to advance a number of critical objectives: minimizing harm to Palestinian civilians and maximizing the humanitarian assistance that reaches them; working to prevent the spread of the conflict; focusing on getting hostages home as well as getting American citizens and other foreign nationals out of Gaza; and working to set sustainable, durable conditions for genuinely lasting peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

To that end, I’ve had conversations starting a week ago with the Israeli Government about steps that can be taken to advance each of these objectives.  And among those steps that we talked about more than a week ago were humanitarian pauses.  These can advance all of the objectives that I just mentioned.  We appreciate the fact that, yesterday, Israel announced four-hour pauses with three-hour notice in specific areas, as well as two humanitarian corridors that will allow people to move more safely and freely to get out of harm’s way and also to access assistance.  These steps will save lives and will enable more assistance to get to Palestinians in need.

At the same time, much more needs to be done to protect civilians and to make sure that humanitarian assistance reaches them.  Far too many Palestinians have been killed; far too many have suffered these past weeks.  And we want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to maximize the assistance that gets to them.

To that end, we’ll be continuing to discuss with Israel concrete steps that can be taken to advance these objectives.  We’ll continue to focus relentlessly on getting our hostages home.  We’ll continue to focus on expanding humanitarian assistance that gets into Gaza and reaches people in effective ways.  And we’ll continue to focus on the steps that can be taken now to try to start to set the foundation for durable and lasting peace, which, as we’ve said repeatedly and believe, has to include two states for two peoples.

With that, happy to take some questions.

MR MILLER:  Matt?

QUESTION:  Thanks, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Matt.

QUESTION:  I think it was on Monday, but I’m not sure – (laughter) – when we – when you finished the Middle East part in Türkiye – and you described all of what you just went through as works in progress.  Obviously, you’re – you see that some progress, some tangible, concrete progress, has been made in some of those with the – with the pauses.  But are those enough?

And then secondly, what exactly is it that can be done now to set the stage for this durable, lasting peace, and in the more near term, the ideas that you put forward for the post-conflict structure of Gaza?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, Matt.  Well, first, I think some progress has been made and I just – I just laid it out, but I was also very clear that much more needs to be done in terms of both protecting civilians and getting humanitarian assistance to them.  And we have concrete plans, concrete things that we’re working on that would do just that.  And as I’ve said from the start, this is a process, and it’s not always flipping a light switch, but we have seen progress.  We just need to see more of it, and we need to maximize every effort to prevent Palestinian deaths and to advance the humanitarian assistance that’s getting to them.

In terms of the longer-term conditions that we need to see to try to get a real foundation for lasting peace and lasting security – because that’s the objective for Palestinians and Israelis alike – I think there are two.  We made some progress first in trying to establish some basic principles that can guide us in that effort, including among them: no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza; no use of Gaza as a platform for launching terrorism or other attacks against Israel; no diminution in the territory of Gaza; and a commitment to Palestinian-led governance for Gaza and for the West Bank, and in a unified way.  These and some other ideas that we’ve put forward and that others share, I think, can start to be the basis for what we need to do.

But we’ve long been committed to two states.  That was the announced policy of the administration when we came to office.  When we came to office, the conditions certainly didn’t look like they were ripe to advance that in the moment.  We first needed to try to make sure that there was as much calm as possible, and then to try to build from there.  And that’s what we’ve been working on very resolutely for the last two and a half years, including pushing back on the expansion of settlements, on illegal outposts, on demolitions of homes, on evictions of Palestinians, on the status quo for the holy sites, on violence being perpetrated by extremists in the West Bank – by the way, something else that we’ve been very focused on – these past week – this past week or so.

And we were working very much on that.  We had important meetings in Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheikh to advance that, even as we were also working on the normalization agenda with Israel and Saudi Arabia, not as a substitute for a Palestinian state but actually as a way to advance it.  But now we’ve had the events of October 7th, the – almost beyond the human imagination – horror of October 7th.  And I think that only reinforces us in our conviction and our commitment to durable and lasting peace, which again, we see through two states.

So we’ve worked to start to establish some basic understandings, basic principles.  A lot of work needs to be done on fleshing all of that out, and then eventually a lot of work is going to need to be done on getting back to the concrete elements of building two states.  But as I’ve said from the outset of this – this past nine days, we have to be focused on both at the same time, and we are.

MR MILLER:  Abbie?

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Abbie.

QUESTION:  — what was your message to Minister Jaishankar regarding the crisis in India-Canada relations?  What progress did you make in convincing India to restore diplomatic immunity to Canadian diplomats?  And if I may, going back to the Middle East, as Israel has moved into a new phase of war, have you seen them take the concrete steps you asked to reduce civilian casualties?  What are those concrete steps, and what progress has been made towards increasing humanitarian assistance to the 400, 500 trucks a day that were coming into Gaza before the war began?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, Abbie.  So on India and Canada, these are two of our closest friends and partners, and of course we want to see them resolving any differences or disputes that they have as a friend of both.  We think it’s very important that India work with Canada on its investigation, and that they find a way to resolve this difference in a cooperative way.  But that really does go with Canada moving its investigation forward and India working with Canada on it.  And that’s something that I’ve discussed with our Indian counterparts, including today.

In terms of coming back to the – to Gaza, again, as I said, we have seen progress in addressing some of the very important concerns that we have and that so many share about protecting Palestinian civilians, about getting humanitarian assistance to them.  I’ve already outlined them, but I also said that much more needs to be done.

So for the humanitarian assistance piece, we do have concrete – more than plans, we do have, I think, a concrete way forward that would allow more trucks to get in on a regular sustained basis, as well as to make sure that there’s an adequate supply of fuel so that, for example, the trucks themselves can be fueled up to distribute the assistance, hospitals have what they need, desalination plants have what they need.

It’s always a process, and moving from an understanding, moving from an agreement to implementation is what we’re working on right now.  As you know, Ambassador David Satterfield has been parked in the region, shuttling back and forth between the various parties that are necessary to get this humanitarian assistance expanded in a significant way.  That includes, of course, Egypt, as well as Israel, as well as the United Nations and some other countries that may have some ability to help.  So we’re very actively pursuing that.  And I believe that, as I said, we not only have some clear understandings about what needs to happen – we’re now in the process of implementing that.  I think you’ll see that unfold.

And further with regard to harm to Palestinian civilians, look, I think first, what Israel announced yesterday will help.  It will help in enabling people to get out of harm’s way; it will help in enabling people to get greater access to humanitarian assistance.  There are other steps that we’ve discussed with Israel, that I discussed a week ago.  I’m not going to detail them here.  I can simply say that there is more that can and should be done to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians.

Thanks.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

QUESTION:  Thank you.

Counterterrorism

Joint Statement on the Fifth Annual India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

Office of the Spokesperson

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and India on the occasion of the Fifth Annual U.S.-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in 2023.

Begin text:

Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar welcomed Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III for the fifth U.S.-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi.

The Ministers noted the substantial progress in transforming U.S.-India relations across domains, based on trust and mutual understanding.  Building upon the June 2023 and September 2023 visits of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and President Joseph Biden, the Ministers reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership in ensuring international peace and security.  The Ministers also underlined their strong commitment to safeguarding a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific through mechanisms like the Quad.

As natural and trusted partners with a shared commitment to advance democracy, human rights, and pluralism, and growing convergence of strategic interests, the United States and India reaffirmed their resolve to promote a resilient, rules-based international order with respect for international law, including the UN Charter, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to ensure peace and prosperity for all.

The Ministers discussed developments in the Indo-Pacific, Middle East, Ukraine among other regions.  The ministers expressed mutual deep concern over the war in Ukraine and its tragic humanitarian consequences.  They again underscored the growing impacts of this war on the global economic system and food security, with consequences predominantly affecting the global South.  Both countries further pledged to continue humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine and concurred on the need for post-conflict reconstruction in Ukraine.

Noting horrific terrorist attacks against Israel, the Ministers reiterated that the United States and India stand with Israel against terrorism and called for adherence to international humanitarian law, including with regard to the protection of civilians.  They called for the immediate release of all remaining hostages.  The Ministers committed to continue coordinating with partners in the region on humanitarian assistance to meet the urgent needs of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.  They expressed support for humanitarian pauses and committed to continue close diplomatic coordination, including with key partners in the region, to prevent the conflict from spreading, preserve stability in the Middle East, and work toward a political solution and durable peace.

Strengthening the Major Defense Partnership

The Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen the multifaceted defense partnership through wide-ranging dialogues and military exercises of increasing complexity and sophistication, accelerated joint projects initiated under the June 2023 Roadmap for U.S.-India Defense Industrial Cooperation and expanded collaboration in emerging domains, such as space and artificial intelligence.  They expressed satisfaction with the pace of cooperation in Maritime Domain Awareness and looked forward to identifying pathways to promote stronger service-to-service ties and share technologies to address an array of maritime challenges, including in the undersea domain.

The Ministers reaffirmed the Roadmap for Defense Industrial Cooperation as a catalyst for strengthening India’s capabilities, enhancing its indigenous defense production, facilitating technology-sharing, and promoting supply chain resilience.

The Ministers accordingly appreciated the commencement of negotiations for a commercial agreement between General Electric (GE) Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India.  Such partnerships exemplify the type of defense industrial cooperation that the two countries look forward to pursuing as an enduring pillar of the defense partnership.  Looking ahead, the Ministers welcomed the progress achieved towards co-production and co-development of defense systems, noting their mutual interest to co-develop and co-produce ground mobility systems as they bring the two countries’ respective defense sectors closer together while enhancing Indian capabilities.  They look forward to additional proposals from Indian and U.S. companies to develop and produce systems in the priority areas established in the Roadmap.

Both sides recommitted to spurring investment in India’s growing maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector, which encompasses aircraft maintenance and mid-voyage repair of U.S. naval vessels.  They welcomed commitments from the U.S. industry to further increase India’s MRO capabilities, including for the repair of aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Ministers also pledged to implement commitments by President Biden and Prime Minister Modi to undertake regular efforts to address export control issues while expanding defense industrial cooperation and supporting India’s goals of emerging as a global defense hub.  Both sides look forward to further discussions about export control and technology transfers in the Strategic Trade Dialogue and its affiliated working groups.

The Ministers looked forward to the finalization of a Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA), a key priority in the Roadmap, which will further integrate the defense industrial ecosystems of both countries while strengthening supply chain resilience.

The Ministers commended the breadth of partnerships under the U.S.-India Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) since the initiative was launched in June 2023.  The Ministers specifically welcomed the Investors Strategy Session convened in New Delhi on November 8, 2023.  The event provided an opportunity for private investors to mobilize capital for funding innovation in cutting-edge technology to address critical security needs.  The Ministers further welcomed the launch of the INDUS-X Gurukul Education series to enable startups to leverage opportunities in the defense ecosystems of the United States and India.  The Ministers also took note of the recent launch of the INDUS-X joint challenges initiative, which will unleash the talent and innovative drive of commercial sectors in both countries to strengthen the respective defense industry ecosystems.

The Ministers lauded continuing advances in interoperability, noting that the United States and India are setting up new liaison positions to facilitate seamless communication and cooperation between their armed forces.  The Ministers welcomed India’s full membership of the multinational Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), headquartered in Bahrain.

The Ministers also welcomed further discussions to maximize the shared benefits of the Logistics and Exchange Memorandum Agreement (LEMOA), and identify reciprocal steps both countries can take to enhance the reach of their respective militaries.

Bolstering Counter-terrorism and Law Enforcement Cooperation

The Ministers unequivocally condemned terrorism and violent extremism, and the use of terrorist proxies and logistical, financial or military support to terrorist organizations, which could be used to launch or plan terrorist attacks, including international attacks. The United States and India reiterated their condemnation of the 26/11 Mumbai attack and the Pathankot attack and called for bringing the perpetrators of these attacks to justice.  The Ministers also called for concerted action against all terrorists, including through designations of individuals affiliated with groups that are listed by the UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee, such as Al-Qa’ida, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, and Jaish-e-Mohammed.  The Ministers emphasized the importance of upholding international standards on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism, consistent with Financial Action Task Force Recommendations.  Both countries reiterated their commitment to work together in FATF and other multilateral platforms.  They expressed determination to counter new and emerging forms of terrorism and violent extremism and the use of emerging and evolving technologies such as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and the internet for terrorist purposes.

The Ministers decided to convene the 20^th Meeting of the U.S.-India Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism and the 5^th Designations Dialogue at a mutually convenient date early next year.  Both sides are looking forward to the next edition of the Homeland Security Dialogue in 2024, where leaders will advance security cooperation, through capacity building and other activities.

The Ministers welcomed the upcoming meeting of the bilateral Cyber Dialogue, expressed their concern about ransomware and other cyber-related crimes, and recognized the need to bolster protection of critical networks and information infrastructure.

Building Science and Technology Partnerships

The Ministers welcomed the rapid progress made under the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) to build science and technology and critical technology value chain collaborations in both the commercial and defense sectors and look forward to the second iteration of iCET in New Delhi in early 2024.  They applauded many breakthrough advances in the U.S.-India technology partnership, including major U.S. private sector investments in India’s semiconductor ecosystem since the launch of iCET this year.  They called on the respective governments, academic, research, and corporate sectors to continue to proactively build these strategic partnerships in emerging technologies like quantum, telecom, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and semiconductors to accelerate global innovation and benefit the economies of both countries.  They welcomed the early meeting of the Strategic Trade Dialogue Monitoring Mechanism.

The Ministers applauded the recent developments in further strengthening space collaborations by establishing a fifth sub-working group, under the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group, to focus on ‘Space Commerce’ and hailed a partnership-building event early next year.  They also welcomed adding ‘Planetary Defense’ as a topic under the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group led by NASA and ISRO, and India joining the multilateral Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG) and International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN) by the end of the year.

The Ministers appreciated the recently held Mineral Security Partnership Principals’ Meeting in London which aimed to catalyze public and private sector investment to build diverse, secure and responsible global critical mineral supply chains.  Reaffirming U.S. support for the mission of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Secretary Blinken pledged to continue working with the Government of India, IEA members, the IEA Secretariat, and other relevant stakeholders toward IEA membership for India in accordance with provisions of the Agreement on an International Energy Program.

The Ministers welcomed further strengthening of U.S.-India Science & Technology cooperation under the 2019 bilateral Agreement on Science and Technology Cooperation and looked forward to a Joint Committee Meeting on Science and Technology in 2024.

The Ministers noted the growing partnerships amongst education and research institutions on both sides propelled by the Joint Task Force led by the Association of American Universities and the IIT Council of India to advance collaborations in the fields of sustainable energy and agriculture, health and pandemic preparedness, semiconductor technology and manufacturing, advanced materials, telecommunications, artificial intelligence, quantum science and critical and emerging technologies.

Expanding Health and Trade Dialogues

The Ministers praised the recent fifth U.S.-India Health Dialogue, which was held on October 11-13, 2023, in Washington, D.C.  The two sides identified several areas for future cooperation, including multilateral cooperation, pandemic preparedness and response, health safety and security, universal health coverage, access, equity, and communicable and non-communicable diseases for future cooperation.  The Ministers celebrated concrete steps taken to kickstart cooperation under the Cancer Moonshot program.

The Ministers applauded the growing trade and commercial partnership and noted that in 2023, bilateral trade has the potential to cross US$ 200 billion despite a challenging global trade environment.  They appreciated the reinvigorated work of the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) and the use of that mechanism to resolve long-standing trade concerns during 2023 and announcement of “Innovation Handshake” under the Commercial Dialogue to enhance their dynamic start-up ecosystems as well as promote innovation and post-pandemic economic recovery and job growth, particularly in critical and emerging technologies (CET).  The Ministers looked forward to convening of next ministerial TPF and Commercial Dialogue meeting early next year.  They also welcomed the steady progress of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), and looked forward to the upcoming IPEF Ministerial meeting in November 2023.

Strengthening People-to-People Ties

The Ministers appreciated the U.S. Department of State’s launch of a pilot program in 2023 to adjudicate domestic renewals of certain petition-based temporary work visas, including for Indian nationals.

The Ministers welcomed the opening of a new Indian Consulate in Seattle and appreciated that the United States has initiated discussions with the Government of India on opening new consulates in the cities of Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

Afghanistan

The Ministers called on the Taliban to adhere to their commitment to prevent any group or individual from using the territory of Afghanistan to threaten the security of any country; and noted UNSC Resolution 2593 (2021), which demands that Afghan territory not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or finance terrorist attacks.  The Ministers urged the Taliban to respect the human rights of all Afghans, including women, children, and members of minority groups; and uphold freedom of travel.  They also emphasized unhindered access to deliver humanitarian assistance and recommitted to having consultations on Afghanistan to help facilitate an inclusive and peaceful future for all Afghans.

Multilateral Diplomacy and Connectivity

The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of a free, open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific and renewed their shared desire to consolidate their dialogue and collaboration through the Quad.  They emphasized the important role of the Quad as a force for global good for the peoples of the Indo-Pacific.  The Ministers look forward to India hosting the next in-person Quad leaders’ Summit in 2024.

The Ministers affirmed the importance of exchanging perspectives on shared global challenges, such as cooperation in multilateral fora and promoting respect for human rights globally, and look forward to the Ministry of External Affairs and the U.S. Department of State holding the next U.S.-India Global Issues Forum in New Delhi in early 2024.

The Ministers appreciated the ongoing efforts of the I2U2 countries to enhance food and energy security and improve the movement of people and goods across hemispheres.  The Ministers also noted that the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor will enhance connectivity between Asia and Europe and will unlock new potential for economic growth in the two continents.  They welcomed the relaunch of consultations between the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the U.S. Department of State on Africa, aimed at exploring potential trilateral cooperation in Africa.  They also looked forward to convening the next round of East Asia Consultations between the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and the U.S. Department of State at an early date.

Secretary Blinken and Secretary Austin lauded India’s G20 Presidency for addressing contemporary global economic issues, inclusion of the African Union as a member, and prioritizing development challenges.  The Ministers welcomed India hosting a virtual G-20 Summit in November 2023 to follow up on G-20 Summit outcomes.

The United States reaffirmed its continued support for India’s permanent membership in a reformed UNSC and again extended welcome to India’s candidature for the UNSC non-permanent seat in 2028-29.

The United States looks forward to hosting the next 2+2 Ministerial.

End text.

Counterterrorism

The United States Applauds Germany’s Ban on Hamas Activities 

Counterterrorism

The 44th Anniversary of the Takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran

Matthew Miller, Department Spokesperson

Today marks 44 years since followers of Ayatollah Khomeini took U.S. diplomats hostage at our embassy in Tehran and held them in horrific conditions for more than a year. We are grateful to our diplomats who served in Tehran and to all the American diplomats who work every day to advance our interests in dangerous situations around the world.

Unfortunately, the Iranian regime has a long history of unjustly detaining foreign nationals that continues today. In September, we were overjoyed to reunite five Americans with their loved ones after their release from the Iranian regime’s captivity. While we celebrate their release and the departure from Iran of two of their family members who had been prevented from leaving the country, we condemn Iran’s continued detention of foreign citizens for use as bargaining chips. We condemn the Iranian regime’s ongoing support for Hamas and other terrorist groups across the Middle East region that engage in the abhorrent practice of hostage-taking.

We take the opportunity to remind U.S. citizens that they should not travel to Iran for any reason due to the risk of arbitrary arrest and detention. The United States is committed to working with like-minded partners to end the practices of hostage-taking and wrongful detention and to promote accountability for Iran and other regimes that engage in the cruel practice of unjustly detaining other countries’ citizens.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Margaret Brennan of CBS’s Face the Nation

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Franklin Room

QUESTION:   We go now to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is at the State Department.  Good morning to you, Mr. Secretary.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good morning, Margaret.  Good to be with you.

QUESTION:  Tension is very high in the region.  Are you changing your security posture?  Are you pulling any U.S. personnel out of the area?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Margaret, we are concerned at the possibility of Iranian proxies escalating their attacks against our own personnel, our own people.  We’re taking every measure to make sure that we can defend them and, if necessary, respond decisively.  Not at all what we’re looking for, not at all what we want, but we’ll be prepared if that’s what they choose to do.

QUESTION:  So that sounds like quite possibly pulling people out.  In terms of the threat from Iran you just referenced there, President Biden in his Oval Office address said that the U.S. would hold Iran accountable.  What does accountable mean?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, what you’ve seen already, Margaret, is a very clear message from the President, backed up by the deployment of two of our largest aircraft carrier battle groups, to make sure that it’s clear:  No one should take advantage of this moment to escalate, to further attacks on Israel, or for that matter attacks on us, on our personnel.  And this is not by way of in terms of what we’re doing by provocation; it’s designed to deter, designed to make clear that no one should use this moment in any way to escalate.

QUESTION:  We’ll stay tuned.  In terms of what’s happening in Gaza, I know there are an estimated five to six hundred Americans there.  Is there any chance Israel lets some of those Americans out or Egypt allows some of those Americans in?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  You’re exactly right.  And to date, at least, Hamas has blocked them from leaving, showing once again its total disregard for civilians of any kind who are stuck in Gaza.

QUESTION:  Have you asked the Israeli Government to delay in order to give you more time to broker the release of these hostages?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  First, step back for a second because it’s important to remember what happened – it’s incredible how quickly that gets lost – because it was only a couple of weeks ago that Hamas invaded Israel with its terrorist fighters and slaughtered – and I use that word very deliberately – slaughtered so many people.

QUESTION:  Right.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Again, men, women, young children, babies, old people, you name it.  And they continue to rain rockets down on Israel.  When I was there a few days ago, we were in the – we had to take shelter a couple of times because of incoming rockets from Hamas.

QUESTION:  Understood.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So my point is this:  No country – no country – can be expected to tolerate this, to live with this.  And as we’ve said from the start, Israel has both the right and even the obligation not only to defend itself but to try to make sure that, to the best of its ability, this can’t happen again.

So we’ve talked to the Israelis about what they’re planning.  We give them our best advice.  It’s important, as we’ve said, not only what they do but how they do it, particularly when it comes to making sure that civilians are as protected as they possibly can be in this crossfire of Hamas’s making.

But in terms of what we’re talking to Israel about in their – with regard to their military operations, it really is focused on both how they do it and how best to achieve the results that they seek.

QUESTION:  So let’s talk about how they do it.  You’re right to lay out just how absolutely horrific that attack was two weeks ago.  Turning the page to what has happened during the following two weeks, UNICEF says 1,524 children have killed in the Gaza Strip during these bombings.  Why isn’t the U.S. calling for at least a temporary ceasefire?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  First, Margaret, when I hear the stories, when I see the pictures of young children who have lost their lives in this conflict of Hamas’s making – whoever they are, wherever they are, whether they’re Palestinians, whether they’re Israelis, whether they’re Jews or Muslims – it hits me and I know it hits virtually everyone right in the heart.  And that’s why it’s so important to do everything possible to protect them, and why it’s so important to do everything possible to get assistance to those who need it – food, medicine, water.  We’ve —

QUESTION:  So why not ask for at least a temporary pause in the bombing —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We’ve seen —

QUESTION:  — as was proposed at the UN this week?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We’ve seen, first of all, that in order to get assistance in, we’ve had – we’ve had that happen. – and you saw the first 20 trucks go in yesterday; I expect more will follow today and the day after that – we want to make sure that we have sustained delivery of food, medicine, water, the things that people need.

At the same time, I said something a minute ago that we have to remember:  Israel has to do everything it can to make sure this doesn’t happen again.  Freezing things in place where they are now would allow Hamas to remain where it is and to repeat what it’s done sometime in the future.  No country could accept that.

QUESTION:  One of my colleagues, who is on the ground in Israel and has traveled to the West Bank, conducted an interview with Mr. Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian politician I’m sure you know.  He said he doesn’t understand why President Biden, when he was in Israel, did not say, “Enough is enough.  You wanted to respond and you responded; you killed 4,000 Palestinians.  Stop.”  Instead, you’re encouraging a ground invasion.”  How do you respond to “enough is enough”?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  “Enough is enough” should have been the case with Hamas two weeks ago.  It would be good to hear the entire world speaking clearly and with one voice about the actions that Hamas took, about the slaughter of people, about the fact that that should be absolutely intolerable, unacceptable to anyone, anywhere, any country, any people.

Second —

QUESTION:  In terms of U.S. interests in the region, one of America’s closest allies, the king of Jordan, gave an impassioned speech saying “Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones.  Our lives matter less than other lives.  The application of international law is optional.  And human rights appear to have boundaries based on races and religions.”  That’s a warning from one of America’s closest friends in the region that this is a dangerous message to be sending and it could have blowback.  Are you concerned?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Margaret, every life – Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, Muslim, Arab – every life has equal worth.  When I see the reports, when I see the photographs, when I hear the stories of young children, Palestinian children, who’ve been killed or injured, it hits me right in the gut, too, just as it does when I hear – when I see these other stories, wherever it is.

We had here in our own country a little boy, six years old, Wadea in Chicago, who was viciously murdered, apparently because he was a Palestinian American.  A little boy, six years old, didn’t do anything to anyone.  I feel that strongly across the board, no matter where it is.

But this is on Hamas.  And the fact is Hamas doesn’t represent the Palestinian people.  It doesn’t represent their just cause.  It doesn’t represent their aspiration, and legitimate aspiration for a state of their own.  On the contrary, it does everything to make life worse and more miserable for the (inaudible).

QUESTION:  Does the U.S. assess that it is actually possible for Israel to destroy both Hamas as an entity and its ideology?  Is it actually a military possibility?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  The best way, the only way to defeat an ideology, no matter how warped – and in the case of Hamas, it’s about as warped as it possibly can be – is to make sure that there is a better, a clearer alternative for people.  And that alternative is very clear and it’s very stark.  We have on the one hand countries throughout the region who want to come together to integrate, to normalize relations, and to lift up the rights of the Palestinian people to be able to have a future where they work together, go to school together, do business together, travel to each other’s countries.  That’s one vision.

QUESTION:  Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  The other vision is the vision that Hamas has – death, destruction, nihilism, darkness.  Now, the responsibility that those of us who believe in the first vision have is to do everything possible to make it real so that people not only see it but they can achieve it.  That’s exactly what we were working on before this horrific attack on October 7th, and that’s the vision that we need to get back to.

QUESTION:  Okay.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  But at the same time, we also have to deal with the fact that Hamas represents an active, ongoing threat, and that has to be dealt with too.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, thank you for your time this morning.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, Margaret.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Kristen Welker of NBC’s Meet the Press

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Franklin Room

QUESTION:  And joining me now is Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who recently returned from a whirlwind diplomatic trip to the Middle East, which took him to Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia twice.  Secretary Blinken, welcome back to Meet the Press.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good morning, Kristen.  Good to be with you.

QUESTION:  Thank you for being here on a very big Sunday.  I want to start with the hostage situation.  As we reported, of course, those two American hostages have been released.  This morning, Hamas has come out with a statement saying they are prepared to release two more hostages.  What can you tell us about that?  Do you see this as a credible offer, coming from this terrorist organization?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, first, Kristen, we’ve been working on this from day one – engaged with different partners in the region, sending clear messages about the need to immediately and unconditionally release all of the hostages.  And it was gratifying to see that Judith and Natalie Raanan were released yesterday.  I had a chance to speak to them as well.  They were – they sounded strong of mind, strong of spirit.  But there remain many others, and we’re hopeful that more are released, but the bottom line is this:  They need to be released, each and every one of them, now, unconditionally.

QUESTION:  Do you take this word by Hamas that they are potentially prepared to release two more hostages seriously?  Is the U.S. Government, for example, working with Qatar to make that happen as we speak?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, acts are what speak, not words, particularly coming from Hamas.  But we’ve been engaged, as I said, with partners.  One of the first things that I did after the horrific attack of October 7^th – and hostages were taken – men, women, young children, elderly people – it’s extraordinary – was to talk to everyone we could who might have influence with Hamas in terms of releasing them.

In the instance of Judith and Natalie, I again want to thank the Government of Qatar for playing  a very important role in getting them out and now on their way home to see their loved ones.

QUESTION:  I want to ask you about their release.  Can you tell us why those two were released, and why now, Mr. Secretary?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I can’t.  We don’t know why Hamas chose to release Natalie and Judith first, and I use the word “first” advisedly because, again, we’re hopeful that more follow.  I can’t speak to that.  What I can speak to is our incessant efforts from day one to try to get people home, to try to get them out of Gaza back with their families and loved ones.  That is continuing as we speak.  This is something we’re engaged in virtually around the clock.

QUESTION:  Do you believe that all 10 unaccounted-for Americans are being held hostage?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Kristen, we don’t know.  As you said, we’ve got 10 unaccounted-for Americans.  We believe that some significant number are hostages.  But what’s happening is – and it just underscores the horror – Israel continues to discover, uncover people who were killed, who were slaughtered, and I use that term very advisedly – “slaughtered” – on October 7th.  So what we don’t know for sure is whether some of the unaccounted-for are dead and have simply not been uncovered yet, or whether they’re hostage.  But we have a pretty strong idea that some number of the 10, at least, are being held in Gaza by Hamas.

QUESTION:  I want to talk to you about the ground operation in Israel.  I spoke to an IDF spokesperson earlier this week who said they are not planning to change their strategy despite the fact that two hostages have now been released.  I want to ask you:  Does the U.S. want Israel to wait on its ground operation until more hostages can be freed?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Kristen, let’s first step back a second and put this in perspective.  The attack of October 7th, the slaughtering of men, women, children, the rocketing of Israel that continues to this day – no country – no country – could accept that.  And so Israel has not only the right, as we’ve said, but the obligation to defend itself.  We’re not in the business of second-guessing what they’re doing.  We are talking to them on a regular basis about how they do it.  It’s vitally important that every measure be taken to protect civilians, that humanitarian assistance gets in to people who are caught in this crossfire of Hamas’s making.  And, of course, both of us want to make sure that the many hostages who’ve been taken come home, and that’s why we’re working on it, as I said, virtually every minute of the day.

But these are decisions that Israel has to make.  We can give our best advice, our best judgment, again, about how they do it and also how best to achieve the results that they’re seeking.

QUESTION:  I want to try to get some clarity from you about the water situation in Gaza.  As you know, Israel decided to cut off water to Gaza, along with the fuel, electricity that powers the water and sewage plants in the territory.  That has exposed residents to all sorts of potential contaminated water and sickness as well.  What was the strategy behind that, and can you clarify?  Has any of the water been restored, Mr. Secretary?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So this is something that we’ve also been working on from – virtually from the beginning.  When I was in Israel and throughout the region, as you mentioned a little while ago, one of the things that I was very focused on was making sure that people in Gaza, innocent people who are caught in this through no fault of their own, in this crossfire of Hamas’s making, get the assistance they need – whether it’s food, whether it’s medicine, whether it’s water.  And so we were able to —

QUESTION:  Has any of it been restored, Mr. Secretary, just to be clear?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So in short, yes.

QUESTION:  Okay.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  In short, yes.  Two things.

First, there are multiple pipelines.  Israel turned back on one of the pipelines about six or seven days ago, so that was an important step.  There are a couple of other pipelines that we’d like to see restored.  In addition, water is coming in.  We – as you mentioned, we had the first 20 trucks of assistance come in.  That includes water.  We’re getting more that we hope will be moving as early as today.  In fact, we were just told that some of the convoys have started to move again and are moving as we speak.

At the same time, there are other things that need to happen.  There are desalination plants that need to be powered in order to make sure that the water people are drinking is clean.  We do have concerns about the spread of disease as a result of people drinking dirty water.  All of these things are very much part of what we’re doing, again, every day to try to make sure that Palestinians have the assistance they need.  We appointed a very senior diplomat, David Satterfield, to be on the ground every day working to make sure that the humanitarian aid that people need is getting there.  And this is a work in progress.  It’s something we’re at all the time.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, there’s been a lot of discussion about what happens after the war.  Can you tell us what Israel’s strategy is after your meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu?  Who will govern Gaza once the war is over?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  One thing’s for sure:  Israel cannot go back to the status quo.  And again, no country would be able to accept that.  No country would want to go back —

QUESTION:  But is there a clear strategy, Mr. Secretary?  Is it clear who’s going to govern Gaza once this war is over?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I think we know two things.  We can’t go back to the status quo.  They can’t go back to the status quo with Hamas being in a position, in terms of its governance of Gaza, to repeat what it did.  At the same time, what I’ve heard from the Israelis is absolutely no intent, no desire, to be running Gaza themselves.  They moved out of Gaza unilaterally, unconditionally, a couple of decades ago.

QUESTION:  Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  But they can’t be in a position where they’re constantly at the threat of the most horrific terrorist attacks coming from Gaza.  So something needs to be found that ensures that Hamas can’t do this again, but that also doesn’t revert to Israeli governance of Gaza, which they do not want and do not intend to do.  There are different – there are different ideas out there about what could follow, but all of that, I think needs, to be worked.  And it’s something that needs to be worked even as Israel is dealing with the current threat.

QUESTION:  Yeah.  As I had mentioned earlier, we have seen an uptick in attacks against U.S. military facilities, against troops around the region.  Overnight, the Pentagon announced it was actually increasing its force posture in the region.  How concerned are you about Iran trying to escalate this war?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We are concerned.  In fact, we expect that there’s a likelihood of escalation – escalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces, directed against our personnel.  We are taking steps to make sure that we can effectively defend our people and respond decisively if we need to.  This is not what we want, not what we’re looking for.  We don’t want escalation.

QUESTION:  Is – is —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We don’t want to see a second or third front develop.  We don’t want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire.  But if that happens, we’re ready for it.

QUESTION:  Is the U.S. opposed to a preemptive strike by Israel, as has been discussed by some Israeli officials?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  The Israelis have been very clear with us, and we share this view:  No one wants a second or third front, including when it comes to Lebanon – northern Israel, southern Lebanon.  That’s not in anyone’s interest, and that’s exactly why we’ve sent a very strong message to try to deter Hizballah, deter Iran more directly, from opening up a second front.  You’ve heard the President speak to this very clearly.  He has put the countries and non-state actors on warning: don’t take advantage of the situation.  We’ve also deployed very significant assets to the region, two aircraft carrier battle groups, not to provoke but to deter, to make clear that, if anyone tries to do anything, we’re there.  So my expectation is that, again, coming from us, coming from Israel, no one is looking for that second front.

QUESTION:  And I just finally, with the few seconds we have left here, want to ask you about the more than hundred billion dollars in aid that President Biden is requesting from Congress, currently in a state of paralysis without a speaker of the House.  How can the U.S. deliver on that aid if you can’t get it through the House, where there are also deep divisions about potentially linking aid to Israel and Ukraine?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We need to see the continuation of strong bipartisan support for both Ukraine and for Israel.  We have two friends who are under attack in different ways, but you heard the President speak very powerfully, very eloquently to this the other night, speaking to the American people.  We know that if we let would-be aggressors act with impunity – whether it’s a state like Russia, whether it’s terrorists like Hamas – we open a Pandora’s box for other aggressors around the world to try to get away with the same thing.

So we have to stand strongly with our friends; we have to stand strongly with both Ukraine and with Israel.  We have to be looking out for the people of Gaza, who were caught in this crossfire.  The supplemental budget request, the money the President asked Congress for, would do just that.  It gives us the assistance that Ukraine needs, that Israel needs, and also that the people of Gaza needs with a lot of humanitarian aid.  So we need Congress and we need it to move forward on the strong bipartisan basis we’ve already seen when it comes to supporting both Ukraine and Israel and, I hope, the people of Gaza.

QUESTION:  All right.  Secretary Blinken, thank you very much for your time this morning.  We really appreciate it.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, Kristen.

Counterterrorism

Iraq: Travel Advisory Updated

Office of the Spokesperson

The Department of State updated its Travel Advisory for Iraq on October 20, 2023, following the ordered departure of eligible family members and non-emergency U.S. government personnel from U.S. Embassy Baghdad and U.S. Consulate General Erbil due to increased security threats against U.S. personnel and interests.

The Travel Advisory for Iraq remains Level 4: Do Not Travel. This replaces the previous Travel Advisory issued on July 13, 2023.

The full text of the updated Travel Advisory is as follows:

Iraq – Level 4: Do Not Travel T U K O

Updated to reflect the ordered departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members.

Do not travel to Iraq due to terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict, civil unrest, and Mission Iraq’s limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens.

On October 20, 2023, the Department ordered the departure of eligible family members and non-emergency U.S. government personnel from U.S. Embassy Baghdad and U.S. Consulate General Erbil due to increased security threats against U.S. personnel and interests.

Country Summary: U.S. citizens in Iraq face high risks to their safety and security, including the potential for violence and kidnapping. Terrorist and insurgent groups regularly attack Iraqi security forces and civilians. Anti-U.S. militias threaten U.S. citizens and international companies throughout Iraq. Attacks using improvised explosive devices, indirect fire, and unmanned aerial vehicles occur in many areas of the country, including Baghdad and other major cities. In an emergency, consular services to U.S. citizens in Iraq are limited due to severe restrictions on the movements of U.S. government personnel.

Demonstrations, protests, and strikes occur frequently throughout the country. These events can develop quickly without prior notice, often interrupting traffic, transportation, and other services, and sometimes turning violent.

Do not travel near Iraq’s northern borders due to the continued threat of attacks by terrorist groups, armed conflict, aerial bombardment, and civil unrest. U.S. citizens should especially avoid areas near armed groups in northern Iraq, which have been targeted with aerial strikes by neighboring countries’ militaries.

U.S. citizens should not travel through Iraq to engage in armed conflict in Syria, where they would face extreme personal risks (kidnapping, injury, or death) and legal risks (arrest, fines, and expulsion). The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has stated that it will impose prison sentences of up to ten years on individuals who illegally cross the Iraq-Syria border. Additionally, fighting on behalf of or supporting designated terrorist organizations is a crime under U.S. law that can result in prison sentences and large fines in the United States.

Because of security concerns, U.S. government personnel in Baghdad are instructed not to use Baghdad International Airport. Due to risks to civil aviation operating in the Baghdad Flight Information Region, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has extended for an additional two years its Special Federal Aviation Regulation (SFAR) prohibiting certain flights at altitudes below 32,000 feet. For more information, U.S. citizens should consult the Federal Aviation Administration’s Prohibitions, Restrictions, and Notices .

Read the country information page for additional information on travel to Iraq.

If you decide to travel to Iraq:

• Establish your own personal security plan in coordination with your employer or host organization or consider consulting with a professional security organization.
• Draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney.
• Discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc.
• Share important documents, login information, and points of contact with loved ones so that they can manage your affairs if you are unable to return as planned to the United States.
• Visit our website for Travel to High-Risk Areas.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Follow the Department of State on Facebook  and Twitter .
• Review the Country Security Report for Iraq .
• Visit the CDC website for the latest Travel Health Information  related to your travel.
• Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations. Review the Traveler’s Checklist.

Counterterrorism

Humanitarian Assistance for Gaza

The Secretary of State

The United States welcomes the delivery of a 20-truck convoy carrying much needed humanitarian assistance to the people in Gaza, the first since Hamas’s horrific October 7 terrorist attack on Israel. We thank our partners in Egypt and Israel, and the United Nations, for facilitating the safe passage of these shipments through the Rafah border crossing. With this convoy, the international community is beginning to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza that has left residents of Gaza without access to sufficient food, water, medical care, and safe shelter. The opening of this essential supply route was the result of days of exhaustive U.S. diplomatic engagement in the region and an understanding President Biden reached with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during his recent historic visit to Israel. Since that visit, Special Envoy David Satterfield has worked with the governments of Israel and Egypt, as well as the United Nations, to oversee its implementation.

We urge all parties to keep the Rafah crossing open to enable the continued movement of aid that is imperative to the welfare of the people of Gaza. We have been clear: Hamas must not interfere with the provision of this life-saving assistance. Palestinian civilians are not responsible for Hamas’s horrific terrorism, and they should not be made to suffer for its depraved acts. As President Biden stated, if Hamas steals or diverts this assistance it will have demonstrated once again that it has no regard for the welfare of the Palestinian people and as a practical matter it will hinder the international community from being able to provide this aid. Civilian lives must be protected, and assistance must urgently reach those in need. We will continue to work closely with partners in the region to stress the importance of adhering to the law of war, supporting those who are trying to get to safety or provide assistance, and facilitating access to food, water, medical care, and shelter for citizens wherever they are located in Gaza.

We continue to work urgently in partnership with Egypt and Israel to facilitate the ability of U.S. citizens and their immediate family members to exit Gaza safely and travel via Egypt to their final destinations. There is no higher priority than the safety of U.S. citizens abroad, and U.S. Embassy Cairo teams are poised to assist these U.S. citizens. We are working tirelessly, including with partner and allied nations with citizens in Gaza, to secure their ability to safely depart the conflict area.

Counterterrorism

Rewards for Justice – Reward Offer for Information on Abukar Ali Adan

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Randa Abul Azm of Al-Arabiya

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Cairo, Egypt

Cairo East Air Base

QUESTION:  Welcome with us —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.

QUESTION:  — Mr.  Secretary.  Well, actually, you have, well, a very hectic regional trip that included eight countries, that started with Israel, and one of its most important aims was to support Israel.  Have you discussed with Israeli leaders the de-escalation of their military operation in Gaza?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, first, let me say this.  We’ve had very good and important conversations throughout the region, and I think there are many shared perspectives, including trying to ensure that this crisis doesn’t spread to other places, including making sure that civilians can – who are in harm’s way are out of harm’s way and get the assistance they need.  I think there’s clear condemnation of the actions that Hamas has taken, the atrocities it’s committed, and a desire to find a way forward, a positive way forward.

Israel has the right to defend itself, and not only to defend itself, but also to make sure that to the best – to the extent possible, this can’t happen again.  What Hamas has done and the way it has done it brings to mind nothing but Daesh, ISIS.  It’s hard to describe in words the atrocities that were committed on men, women, children, babies, old people.  But the way that Israel does this is also very important, to include taking every precaution that civilians not be harmed and making sure that those who need assistance can get it.  And we’re working very, very actively on that.

QUESTION:  That’s my question, actually.  Israel has imposed a very strict blockade on the strip, preventing food, medicine, water, electricity, energy.  I mean, have you discussed this with regional leaders, a ceasefire or a truce to get the humanitarian aid inside?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We believe that civilians should not suffer because of the depravity of Hamas.  And among other things, that means that they should have food, water, medicine, all the basic essentials that they need.  And that’s exactly what we’re working on.  Today, water was turned back on for Gaza.  We engaged with Israel to make that happen.  We’re now focused on making sure that humanitarian assistance can get in, that people can get out of harm’s way within Gaza, and also that some of our own citizens who wish to leave can get out.  But this has been very much a part not only of our conversations, but of the actions we’re taking.

In fact, today President Biden appointed one of our most experienced diplomats, David Satterfield, who has deep experience in this region, to lead our humanitarian assistance efforts – special envoy of the President to work with everyone in the region to make sure that Palestinians in harm’s way in Gaza get the assistance they need.

QUESTION:  Of course, you’ve heard the word “collective punishment” – from the leaders, from President Sisi today, from humanitarian groups, from many organizations – that the order of Israel to more than 1 million Palestinian civilians to be evacuated from the north to the south of Gaza that is supposedly almost impossible, it’s a death sentence.  And my question for you:  How can the United States help the Palestinian civilians in Gaza?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  That’s exactly what we’re focused on now, and as I said, working very closely with a number of countries – with Egypt, with the United Nations, also with Israel and other interested countries – in putting the assistance together, getting it into Gaza, making sure that people can be out of harm’s way in Gaza, not outside of Gaza.  That’s exactly what we’re focused on and that’s why we’ve appointed a very senior official to make sure that we’re working on that every single day.

QUESTION:  Okay.  A truce can be – or a ceasefire can be held very soon to get the humanitarian aid?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  The – the attacks against Israel from Hamas continue.  Any – no country – no country – can accept the proposition that terrorists can come in, slaughter – and I use the word very advisedly – slaughter thousands of its citizens, riddling babies with bullets, burning people alive, decapitating soldiers, executing children in front of their parents, executing parents in front of their children – no country can tolerate this.  So Israel, as I said, has the right to defend itself; in fact, it has the obligation to defend itself.  But as I’ve also said – and President Biden’s been very clear about this – the way that it does it matters, makes a difference.  And that’s why it is very important that Israel do everything possible to ensure that civilians are not harmed.

Civilians have been put in harm’s way by Hamas.  Hamas had to know there would be a strong reaction to what it did, and knowing that and knowing that civilians would be in harm’s way, it went ahead anyway.  And the fact of the matter is this.  What does Hamas do?  Hamas makes sure that all of its critical leaders, that its command centers, that its weapons, its ammunitions are all located in residential areas in residential buildings or buried underneath hospitals, schools, and supermarkets.  They know – they are using the Palestinians of Gaza as human shields, and that, too, is disgraceful.

QUESTION:  Egypt had called for an international summit as regards the future of the Palestinian cause.  Will the United States endorse and participate in such a summit?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So we welcome these efforts.  We welcome any efforts to work together to determine how the international community can best support the Palestinian people, can make sure that people have the assistance they need, and can also talk about the future.

QUESTION:  Okay.  The relocation of the Gaza residents to the Sinai Peninsula, this has been bluntly proposed by Israeli officials and in Israeli media, which is totally rejected by Egypt and many Arab countries.  Did you discuss this issue during your tour, and did you find other alternatives for the Gaza people?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We’ve heard, and I’ve heard directly from Palestinian Authority President Abbas and from virtually every other leader that I’ve talked to in the region, that that idea is a nonstarter, and so we do not support it.  We believe that people should be able to stay in Gaza, their home.  But we also want to make sure that they’re out of harm’s way and that they’re getting the assistance they need.

QUESTION:  Okay.  The efforts to evacuate foreign nationals from Gaza strip has been blocked by Israelis.  Refusal to allow humanitarian aid and Egypt’s, of course, insistence to open a two-way corridor, human corridor, to Gaza.  Is there hope, a deal as this regard can be reached very soon?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So Israel is not blocking the departure of foreign nationals.  The problem has been Hamas has disrupted that, and of course, we have to make the necessary arrangements.  Egypt is fully prepared to facilitate the departure of more citizens, of other foreign nationals.  At the same time, Egypt is fully prepared – and we’re working with them – to get assistance in.  And we’re putting in place a system – working with the United Nations, working with Egypt, working with other countries – to make sure that the assistance can get into Gaza, get to the people who need it.

QUESTION:  There is widespread – there’s fear of widespread violence and the conflict is just spread from – beyond Gaza.  You have sent – the United States have sent aircraft missiles, weapons in order to warn other parties not to be in the conflict.  How concerned are you that this will be – spread the conflict in the area?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I think this is a concern across the region.  Pretty much everyone that I spoke to is concerned about the conflict spreading and determined that it not spread.  President Biden has been very clear – very clear – no one, state or otherwise, should try to take advantage of this moment, and he said that directly.  And as you noted, we have sent two of our aircraft carrier groups, both to the Eastern Mediterranean and to the region, not as a provocation but as a deterrent to make clear to anyone who would think about doing something: don’t do it.

QUESTION:  Okay.  Will the United States send military personnel to take military action or take military action to free its civilians kept hostages in Gaza?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We are very focused on getting our people back, getting the hostages back – another absolutely unconscionable action by Hamas: taking little children, taking elderly people, taking a Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair.  I don’t even know how anyone can comprehend that, can process that.  We’re determined to bring our people back.  We’re working on that.  I’m not going to talk about any more details than that.

QUESTION:  Okay.  My last question, because we’re running out of time:  With this unprecedented escalation in the region, do you think that the two-state solution is still valid?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We – it’s long been American policy, United States policy, that the answer or a critical part of the answer to the future for the region and certainly the future for Palestinians and Israelis is two states.  And we continue to strongly support that.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, I’ll have to end our interview in Arabic.

(In Arabic.)

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Shukran.

QUESTION:  Thank you so much.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken Remarks to the Press

The Secretary of State

Cairo, Egypt

Cairo Airport

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good evening, everyone.  We are here at what is an extremely difficult and very tenuous time for the region in the wake of the slaughter perpetrated by Hamas.

We came here with four key objectives: to make clear that the United States stands with Israel; to prevent the conflict from spreading to other places; to work on securing the release of hostages, including American citizens; and to address the humanitarian crisis that exists in Gaza.

We started, as you know, in Israel.  And it was important to make it very clear that the United States has Israel’s back.  We will stand with it today, tomorrow, and every day, and we’re doing that in word and also in deed.  I spent time with Prime Minister Netanyahu to go through the needs that Israel may have to make sure it can effectively defend itself, and we’ve already seen a lot of that assistance moving forward, and that’s a conversation that’ll continue.

Israel has the right – indeed it has the obligation – to defend itself against these attacks from Hamas, and to try to do what it can to make sure that this never happens again.  As I said in Tel Aviv, as President Biden has said, the way that Israel does this matters.  It needs to do it in a way that affirms the shared values that we have for human life and human dignity, taking every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians.

After we left Israel, we’ve gone now to – I think I’ve lost track, but to six countries in the region: Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, now here in Egypt.  And the purpose of seeing all of our partners was first and foremost to listen to them, to hear how they’re seeing this crisis, and to look at what we can do together to deal with many of the concerns that it’s raised.

What I’ve heard from virtually every partner was a determination, a shared view that we have to do everything possible to make sure this doesn’t spread to other places; a shared view to safeguard innocent lives; a shared view to get assistance to Palestinians in Gaza who need it, and we’re working very much on that.

I made clear that it cannot be, must not be business as usual with Hamas going forward.  And at the same time, as I said, we’re determined to do everything we can to address the needs of people in Gaza.  Civilians should not have to suffer for Hamas’s atrocities.  We are now very actively engaged with countries in the region, with the United Nations, with Israel, to make sure, to the best of our ability, that people can get out of harm’s way and that the assistance they need – the food, water, medicine – can get in.

Today the President appointed one of our most senior diplomats, one of our most experienced diplomats, Ambassador David Satterfield, to lead our humanitarian efforts.  Ambassador Satterfield, he was previously ambassador to Lebanon, to Türkiye.  He’s been here in this region for a long time.  He’ll actually be here tomorrow to start working on those efforts to make sure we’re coordinating everything, and as I said, moving assistance in to people who need it and helping people get out of harm’s way.

From here, we’re heading back to Israel.  I want an opportunity to share everything that I’ve heard, that I’ve learned over the last few days visiting with our other partners and to talk about the way forward with our Israeli allies and friends.

This is a difficult and a challenging time, but there’s a determination that I’ve heard across the board to work through it, to get through it, and to do that together.

Happy to take some questions.

MR MILLER:  Iain.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, is it still possible to limit the scope of this widening war given what’s happening on the border with Lebanon?  And can you also tell us what you said today to President Sisi about the confusion on the – at the Rafah crossing?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, first, there’s a determination in every country I went to to make sure that this conflict doesn’t spread.  President Biden has been very clear about this, and you’ve heard him repeatedly say to anyone, state or non-state, that is thinking of taking advantage of this situation: don’t do it.  And we’ve backed up those words with concrete actions, including the deployment now of our two largest aircraft carrier battle groups to the region.  That’s not meant as a provocation; it’s meant as a deterrent.  It’s meant to make clear that no one should do anything that could add fuel to the fire in any other place.  So I think that’s very clear.

It’s also clear from our conversations with all of these other countries that they strongly share that view and they are using their own influence, their own relationships to try to make sure that this doesn’t happen.

With regard to Rafah, I had a very good conversation with President El-Sisi.  We have put in place – Egypt has put in place a lot of material support for people in Gaza.  And Rafah will be reopened.  We’re putting in place with the United Nations, with Egypt, with Israel, with others, a mechanism by which to get the assistance in and to get it to people who need it.  And that’s exactly why Ambassador Satterfield is now taking this on – the President appointed him today.  He’ll be here on the ground tomorrow to work out all the practical details so we can move this forward.

MR MILLER:  Will.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, about – following up on Iain’s question about the concerns about a northern front in Israel, is the U.S. prepared to back up Israel, to defend it, if it heats up there from – if it – attacks heat up from Hizballah, Hamas, or other groups?  And then just quickly on your recent conversations with Prince Mohammed and with President El-Sisi, did you hear any ideas you liked from them on a ceasefire or summit?  And would that be appropriate and would the U.S. support that before Israel engages in its campaign in Gaza?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  I don’t think we can be more clear than we’ve been that when it comes to Israel security, we have Israel’s back.  The President’s been clear about it; I’ve been clear about it; the entire administration has been clear about it.  And again, we’ve backed that up not only with the words that we’re saying, but with what we’re actually doing, including the deployment of these aircraft carrier battle groups – again, not to provoke anyone but to send a very clear message of deterrence that no one should do anything that widens this conflict in any way or that furthers aggression against Israel from any other direction.  So we’ve been clear about that.

I had very good conversations both with the crown prince in Saudi Arabia and here in Egypt with President El-Sisi, and also heard, I think, a lot of good ideas about some of the things we need to do moving forward, including practical ideas on getting assistance to Palestinians in Gaza who are in need, but also good and important conversations about the future and where we hope, ultimately, together we can bring this in a much more positive way.

In terms of the conference that Egypt is putting forward, look, we think these kinds of initiatives are good ideas.  Anything that can look in practical ways at how we can help get assistance to Palestinians who need it, that can look at ways to ensure that this conflict doesn’t spread, that can look to the future as well, I think is a positive thing.

And what’s very clear is this:  There are two very different visions for the future and what the Middle East can and should be.  There’s a vision that we very strongly espouse that has countries in the region normalizing their relations, integrating, working together in common purpose, and upholding and bringing forth the rights and aspirations of the Palestinian people.  That’s one vision; it’s very clear.  There’s another vision that Hamas has demonstrated in the most horrific way, and that’s a vision of death, of destruction, of nihilism, of terrorism.  That’s a vision that does nothing to advance aspirations for Palestinians, that does nothing to help create better futures for people in the region, and does everything to bring total darkness to everyone that it’s able to affect.

So I think the two – the paths are clear, the visions are clear.  And I have no doubt what path people – the overwhelming majority of people in the region will choose and will prefer if given the opportunity.  So our responsibility, all of us who believe in that first path – and that’s everyone I talked to – our responsibility is to make it real, to bring it to light, to make it a clear, affirmative choice.  And that’s what we’re determined to do.  We have to get through this crisis first, and we’re working to do that, but we also have to get back in a very clear, practical way to that vision, to making it real.  If we do that, everyone in this region will be in a much better place and so will the rest of the world.

MR MILLER:  Thank you.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you.  Thanks, everyone.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi Before Their Meeting

The Secretary of State

Cairo, Egypt

Al-Ittihadiya Palace

PRESIDENT SISI:  (Via interpreter)  Mr. Secretary, welcome.  I’m very pleased to see you – welcome to Egypt – and distinguished members of your delegation.

I know that this is the last of your big tour in the region.  I commend this enormous effort that you’re making to – let me tell you, Mr. Secretary, that the crisis is quite unprecedented, and we need forceful work, we need our strong determination to make sure that we contain such a crisis.

It’s very important to start my words with one thing that I’d like to highlight.  We strongly denounce hurting or harming civilians – any civilians of any (inaudible).  This has been our commitment, stance.  We’ve been very keen over the years to make sure that we bring about peace since the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel.  Since that time, Egypt has been playing a very important role in addressing of the crises that erupted over the years.  We’re talking here about five rounds of conflicts.

Very important to say also that throughout these five rounds of conflict, innocent lives were claimed (inaudible).  And I’m going to state the numbers, and I just – I want to state the numbers because any delay in resolving this issue, trying to find to a solution, will just lead to more victims.  Victims are, after Palestinian (inaudible), amounted to 12,500 civilians.

On the Israeli side, they lost 2,700 people, including 1,500 in this last crisis.  What I’m talking about is information that everyone can check (inaudible).  We’re talking about a hundred thousand Palestinians injured, and 12,000 (inaudible).  We’re talking about children – we’re talking about 2,500 Palestinian children who were victims, and 150 on the Israeli side.  I’m saying this now because we are facing here a huge crisis, and I’m quite concerned about the reaction – they just overextend the right of self-defense, and it turns into a convicted punishment of 2.3 million Palestinians living in (inaudible).

Yes, it is true what happened over the past nine days was very difficult and too much, and we unequivocally condemn it.  But we need to understand that this is the result of accumulated fury and hatred over four decades, where the Palestinians had no hope to find a solution.  Many people ask:  Is this the right time to speak about this or only to try to find a way out of the current crisis?  But what I’m saying here is that trying hard to get clear to lay the right foundation for our effort and our (inaudible) because we have to evade very dire consequences that would afflict the Middle East.  We’re trying very hard to contain and resolve the crisis and avoid any other parties getting into the conflict.

Mr. Secretary, you spoke about the crisis and you spoke as a Jewish person, and let me tell you that I am an Egyptian citizen, and I was born and brought up in a neighborhood where we had Jewish neighbors.  And Jews who used to live here in Egypt not ever suffered from oppression and persecution – targeted.  As a matter of fact, the Jews were never targeted in the (inaudible) in over – throughout the whole history.  Maybe we were persecuted in Europe – in certain European countries and some other countries – but this will not happen before.  What is happening now and what we see now is a tidal wave that is a direct consequence of the crisis and its accumulated symptoms.

This requires us to work, as I said, forcibly and with full determination.  It is very important to reduce the flame and to make sure that we deliver the assistance needed to (inaudible) that is under siege, where it is completely deprived of the basic services – food, water, electricity, and fuel.  The infrastructure is deteriorating and coming down to zero.  We need to hear (inaudible) ourselves.  We need to hear each other, and we need to hear this from us, because we are the people who know the region.  We are the ones who are very much interested and living day by day with everything that is happening in the region.

Two questions very much relating.  One was about (inaudible), and one was (inaudible) and who committed that crime?  It was the extremists.  This (inaudible) and this is why we need to work together very diligently.  I welcome you.  I don’t want to take – to talk much.  I welcome you, and I hope this is an opportunity for us to have (inaudible) and a good chance where we work to give a strong momentum to finding out a solution and – to resolve this crisis.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thank you very much, Mr. President.  And as always, it’s good to see you.  I wish it were under different circumstances.  I come first and foremost as a human being, a human being like so many others appalled at the atrocities committed by Hamas.  It’s hard to find the words to describe them, but “inhumane” is a good place to start.  We’re determined to stand against Hamas and what it has done, and to make sure that it can’t happen again.  We’re determined to stand with and for innocent civilians who suffer primarily as a consequence of what Hamas has done on all sides.

We come to work together as well to ensure that this crisis, this conflict doesn’t spread to other places, and we come to think together about a way forward for everyone that is positive, affirmative – the contrary of the vision that Hamas has, which is simply terror, destruction, murder.  What we’ve seen these last days, I think, makes clear that there really are two paths for this region.  And one is the path of greater integration, normalization, collaboration, affirmation of the rights of Palestinians, and working together in common purpose, common benefit – that’s one path.  The other practice the one that’s offered by Hamas – a path, as I said, that offers nothing but death, destruction, terror, nihilism.

I think the choice is very clear.  The challenge is for us to work together to put everyone clearly, affirmatively on that first path.  We know that that’s what the overwhelming majority of people in this region want, it’s certainly what we believe they need, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to consult with you about the challenges we face in the immediate, but also on a path forward that takes us to a better place.

Counterterrorism

Appointment of David Satterfield as Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues

The Secretary of State

President Biden has appointed former Ambassador David Satterfield as the Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues. Special Envoy Satterfield will lead U.S. diplomacy to urgently address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including work to facilitate the provision of life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable people and promote the safety of civilians, in coordination with the United Nations and U.S. partners. He will lead a whole-of-government campaign to mitigate the humanitarian fallout of Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel, supporting critical efforts by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. His role builds on the long-standing U.S. commitment to supporting peace and stability in the region.

Special Envoy Satterfield’s decades of diplomatic experience and work amidst some of the world’s most challenging conflicts will be instrumental in our continued effort to address urgent humanitarian needs. His regional experience spans over forty years including assignments in Syria, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, and two tours in Lebanon. He has served as Acting Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs, as Director of Arab and Arab-Israeli Affairs in the Department of State, and as Director for Near Eastern Affairs on the National Security Council Staff from 1993 to 1996, where he worked primarily on the Arab-Israeli peace process. Since leaving government, Special Envoy Satterfield has served as the director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

I deeply appreciate Special Envoy Satterfield’s willingness to take on this role and look forward to working with him closely in this new capacity.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Kristen Welker of NBC’s Meet the Press

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

The Benjamin Franklin Room

QUESTION:  And joining me now is Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  Mr. Secretary, welcome back to Meet the Press.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Good morning, Kristen.

QUESTION:  So the big question on everyone’s mind, Mr. Secretary:  How did Israel, how did the United States miss what Hamas was planning?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, first, put this in perspective – and you heard this from your correspondents as well.  This is the worst attack on Israel since the Yom Kippur War in 1973, almost exactly 50 years ago.  But there’s also a big difference.  That was a state-on-state conflict, army against army with clear front lines.  This is a massive terrorist attack targeting Israeli civilians, gunning people down in the streets of their towns, gunning them down in their homes, dragging Israelis – men, women, and children – across the border with Gaza.  A Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair, women and children – all being taken hostage.

So you can imagine the impact this is having in Israel, and it should be revolting to people around the world.  There will be plenty of time to figure out whether the intelligence should have done something different to see this coming.  Right now the entire focus is on supporting Israel, making sure that it has what it needs – as President Biden pledged to Prime Minister Netanyahu when they spoke yesterday – has what it needs to deal with this attack from Hamas, to make sure that it has control over its own territory, and that it takes the necessary steps so that there’s accountability, and to try to ensure, to the best of its ability, that this doesn’t happen again.

We’ve been on the phones constantly since yesterday – early yesterday morning – the President, myself, everyone throughout our government – working around the world both to build up that support and to get countries to use the influence they may have with Hamas to get it to cease and desist.

QUESTION:  But Mr. Secretary, do you acknowledge that both Israeli intelligence officials and U.S. intelligence officials were caught off guard here?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  This is an attack that I don’t think anyone saw coming in the – in the immediate.  And as I said, this —

QUESTION:  So was it an intelligence failure, Mr. Secretary?  Do you acknowledge it was an intelligence failure?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We will have plenty – we will have plenty of time to – the Israelis will have plenty of time to look into that.  All of us will have time to look into that.  The focus now has to be on making sure that Israel has what it needs to deal with this attack and to make sure that its citizens are safe and secure.  That’s the entire focus.

Now, more broadly, we have been intensely concerned about the possibility of violence in the region.  We have been working intensely with Israelis and Palestinians and other countries to try to make sure that that was – that was avoided.

The challenge is this:  We brought Israelis and Palestinians together in Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheikh to make sure that neither took steps that could lead to conflict, and that was an ongoing effort, but Hamas was not involved because Hamas is a terrorist organization, and the difference maker here is you have a terrorist group that’s undertaken these actions.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, does the administration know at this point if U.S. citizens were among the dead or those taken hostage?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So we have reports that several Americans may be among the dead.  We are very actively working to verify those reports.  Similarly, we’ve seen reports about hostages, and there, again, we’re very actively trying to verify them and nail that down.

QUESTION:  Meaning that there could be some U.S. citizens who have been taken hostage as well, Mr. Secretary?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  That’s correct.

QUESTION:  And does the United States have a role, given that and more broadly speaking, in securing the release of the hostages that have been taken, both Israeli hostages and U.S. hostages and any other nationalities?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, Kristen, first, I’m not going to get ahead of the facts.  We need to establish the facts.  Second, any American anywhere who is being detained or held hostage, that is going to be a priority for this government, for this administration, and for me, but I don’t want to get ahead of where we are.  We have reports; we need to verify them.

QUESTION:  Did Iran play a role in this attack, Mr. Secretary?  What has the administration assessed in that regard?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So, Kristen, Iran and Hamas have a long relationship.  Hamas wouldn’t be Hamas without the support it’s had for many years from Iran.  In this moment, we don’t have anything that shows us that Iran was directly involved in this attack, in planning it or in carrying it out, but that’s something we’re looking at very carefully, and we’ve got to see where the facts lead.  But we do know that Iran’s had a long relationship with Hamas, long support.  It’s one of the reasons that we have been aggressively working to counter Iran, including sanctioning more than 400 Iranians, more than 400 – and companies, precisely for the things like the support it’s provided to Hamas.

QUESTION:  And we are learning just this morning that two Israeli tourists and their Egyptian guide were killed in Egypt.  This comes as major cities around our country are enhancing security at synagogues and other religious institutions.  How concerned should Americans be about a potential attack here, Mr. Secretary?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, we haven’t – we haven’t seen indications of that, but of course were on guard around the world.  We’re on guard wherever American citizens may be and could be in danger, and of course we’re always on guard in the United States.  But when it comes to the region as a whole, look, I was on the phone yesterday with my counterparts from Egypt, from Saudi Arabia, from Jordan, from Qatar, from the United Arab Emirates, from Türkiye, from European countries, and a big part of that was trying to make sure that everyone was doing everything they can to ensure security, ensure safety, and to use whatever influence they have to get Hamas to back down and also to make sure that others don’t try to take advantage of the situation.  You heard the President speak to this very clearly.  He issued a pretty stark warning that no one anywhere should try to take advantage of what’s happening in Israel.

QUESTION:  And speaking of Saudi Arabia, of course, this comes against the backdrop of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Israel having discussions about a potential deal to normalize relations, which would have further isolated Iran.  What, if any, role do you think those talks may have played in these attacks, and does this effectively mean that those talks are now dead?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  It’s no surprise that those who are opposed to the talks, those who are opposed to Israel normalizing its relations with its neighbors and with countries beyond the region, are Hamas, Hizballah, and Iran.  And so it’s entirely possible that one of the motivations for this attack was to try to derail these efforts to advance normalization, something that is very hard.  There are a lot of really challenging issues to work through; we’re in the process of trying to do that.  But the result would be, if we were able to get there, a much different path for the region and for the future – a path of greater stability, of greater integration, of people working together to better their lives.

That’s in stark contrast to the path that’s offered by Hamas – a path of violence, killing, horror, terror, a path that offers absolutely nothing to the Palestinian people.  In fact, what it offers is more suffering, not less.  So, it’s a pretty stark choice.  And the fact that Hamas, Hizballah, Iran are lined up against that vision, I think speaks volumes.

At the same time, as we’re pursuing normalization, it’s imperative that it not be a substitute for Israelis and Palestinians resolving the differences between them.  On the contrary, it needs to be something that actually advances that prospect and supports it.

But right now, in the immediate, the focus is on helping Israel deal with this attack from Hamas.  That’s what we’re focused on.

QUESTION:  And Mr. – Mr. Secretary, as you know, Republican candidates have been criticizing the administration for the deal that you just struck with Iran to release five American detainees in exchange for some Iranian detainees as well as releasing $6 billion.  Your officials have already said Iran has not yet seen a cent of that money, but how do you respond to Republican critics who say that that deal funded the attacks on Israel?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, it’s very unfortunate that some are playing politics at a time when so many lives have been lost and Israel remains under attack.  Here are the facts:  The facts are that these were – these were not U.S. taxpayer dollars.  These were Iranian resources that it had accumulated from the sale of its oil that were stuck in a bank in South Korea.  From day one, under our law, under our sanctions going back many years, it’s always had the right to use those funds for humanitarian purposes – for food, for medicine, for medical equipment.  The funds were moved from one bank to another where it could more easily do that, but under the close supervision of the U.S. Treasury Department.  In other words, Treasury will verify any —

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary – Mr. Secretary, I don’t – I don’t want —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  No, it’s important – it’s important to get these facts right, because here’s what’s going on.  Again, not a single cent has been spent from that account.  When any money is spent from that account, it can only be used for medical supplies, for food, for medicine – and those who are saying otherwise are either misinformed or misinforming, and it’s wrong either way.

QUESTION:  What do you say about the argument that money is fungible?  So Iran may have known this money is coming and used other funds to help fund this attack that happened.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Iran has – Iran has, unfortunately, always used and focused its funds on supporting terrorism, on supporting groups like Hamas, and it’s done that when there have been sanctions, it’s done that there haven’t been sanctions.  And it’s always prioritized that.  And again, I come back to the proposition that from – these funds have always been, under the law, available to Iran to use for humanitarian purposes.  The Trump administration set up a very similar mechanism to enable Iran to use these kinds of assets for humanitarian purposes.  We’ve done the same thing.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, very quickly before we go.  As you know, there is currently no speaker of the House.  Congress is in a state of paralysis.  Is Congress able to respond should Israel ask for more aid from the United States?  What’s your message there?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So, Kristen, there’s a tremendous amount of aid and assistance already in the pipeline.  Back under President Obama, we signed a so-called memorandum of understanding with Israel that provides it with $3.8 billion a year in defense assistance, and much of that is ongoing.  The contracts are moving forward.  We do a lot of co-production with them.  A lot is in the pipeline.

At the same time, Israel has come to us and asked for some specific additional assistance.  I’m sure you’ll hear more about that probably later today, and we’re responding to that, and we have the ability to do that.  Now, as a general proposition, it would be very important to make sure that we have both houses of Congress, on a bipartisan basis, in a place where they can clearly show and express their support for Israel, especially in this hour of need.  And so that’s something we want to see, and we hope that that happens quickly.

QUESTION:  Okay.  Secretary Blinken, thank you so much for joining us.  We will look for that announcement about more aid later today.  Really appreciate it.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Margaret Brennan of CBS’s Face the Nation

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Franklin Room

QUESTION:  We go now to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who joins us from the State Department here in Washington.  Good to have you with us, Mr. Secretary.  I know you have been working —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, Margaret.

QUESTION:  — straight through on this.  Can you answer the question yet of whether the Hamas assault is over?  Are there more attacks to come?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  The assault isn’t over.  There continue to be very active fighting around Gaza.  At the same time, we’ve seen more quiet in other parts of Israel, but there is intense fighting going on.

QUESTION:  And what about Americans?  There are a lot throughout the region.  How many Americans are among the hostages and among the dead?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So, Margaret, we’ve got reports that several Americans are among the dead.  We are working very actively to verify those reports.  At the same time, the reports of Americans being taken hostage – there, too, we’re working to get the facts and to find out if those reports are accurate.

QUESTION:  So, you don’t know if there are hostages are not?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We can’t confirm that in this moment, but we’re very actively working to see if we can confirm the reports that we’ve had.

QUESTION:  Has the United States asked Israel not to strike Iran?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We – the only things we’ve said to Israel are that we’re here; we’ve got your back; we want to make sure that you have the support that you need; we want to make sure that you have the assistance that you need.

At the same time, I was on the phone yesterday – and many others were on the phones yesterday – with counterparts from Egypt, from Saudi Arabia, from Jordan, from Qatar, from the United Arab Emirates, from Türkiye, Lebanon, and many European countries as well to make sure that, first of all, people had heard very clearly what the President said about others in other places not taking advantage of the situation, and to use the influence that they have with different groups to make sure that they don’t do that, precisely so that we don’t have a broadening of this conflict to other places.

QUESTION:  But the door is open for Israel to expand this, to take the fight to potentially sponsors of Hamas, like Iran?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Israel is focused – is entirely on Gaza and on securing its citizens, a number of whom remain under direct threat right now in Israel proper, and, as I said, trying to do what’s necessary to have accountability and to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.  That is Israel’s focus.

QUESTION:  Yeah.  Is there a sense that this was an attempt to take advantage of the West’s focus on Ukraine?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  No, I don’t see that.  I think – look, we don’t – we’ll have to see, as we learn more, what the motivations were and what they are.  But here’s one thing that’s clear:  We’ve been actively working on trying to help Israel and Saudi Arabia normalize their relations, as well as Israel broadening its relationships with many other countries in the region and beyond.  Very hard work, and not clear that we could get there.  But if we could, it would really change the prospects of the entire region far into the future.

QUESTION:  Right.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Now, who’s opposed to that?  Hamas, Hizballah, Iran.  So, I think that speaks volumes.  And there are really two paths before the region.  There’s the path of greater integration, greater stability, including, critically, making sure that Israelis and Palestinians resolve their differences —

QUESTION:  Right.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  — or there’s the path of terror that Hamas is engaged on, that has not improved the lives of a single person.  On the contrary, it’s destroyed lives, including Palestinian lives.

QUESTION:  But let me press you on that, because you’re suggesting this may have been a strategic choice.  But then I look at conditions having been deteriorating for Palestinians living in the West Bank, in Gaza for a while now.  The right-wing coalition in Israel – in fact, the CIA director Bill Burns has publicly warned of his concern and U.S. Intelligence concern about the risk of instability in this region.  Jordan’s king has been warning about the risks of extremism.  Did the Netanyahu government underestimate that risk?  Why were they so vulnerable?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  First, let’s be absolutely clear that there is no equivalence between the differences that exist between Israelis and Palestinians, and the actions of the Israeli Government in that regard, and these absolutely heinous acts of terrorism that we’ve seen directed at Israeli men, women, and children – none.

Now, we have been concerned about the risks of instability for many, many months between Israelis and Palestinians.  We’ve said from day one that even as we’re working toward normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia, that can’t be a substitute for resolving the differences between Israelis and Palestinians.  We think the best way to resolve it —

QUESTION:  Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  — remains a two-state solution, and one that ensures that Palestinians and Israelis alike know equal measures of democracy, of opportunity, of dignity in their lives.  That’s why we’ve been very focused on that track as well.

QUESTION:  Yeah.  But that has not been a priority between the parties themselves, but – as you know.  Gaza – and I’m explaining this to our audience, because I know you know how concentrated the population is within such a small area, and every time we have a conflict like this it raises the question of what the humanitarian impact will be.  If this is a prolonged attack, what kind of humanitarian crisis are you expecting here and impact on civilians?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, we’ve seen this, unfortunately, repeat itself, although the magnitude, the scale of what Hamas did here, is something we haven’t seen before.  But in prior instances, those who have suffered, along with the victims of terrorism, are civilians, including in Gaza.  And whatever Israel does in Gaza, as always, we look to it to do everything possible to avoid civilian causalities – something, of course, that Hamas doesn’t do.  On the contrary, not only does it not seek to avoid them, it deliberately targets civilians.

QUESTION:  Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  It’s gunning down Israelis in the streets, in their homes, and, as I said, dragging them across the border in Gaza.  So, there’s absolutely no comparison.  But we look to Israel, as always, to apply the highest standards when it comes to avoiding civilian causalities in anything it may do in Gaza.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, thank you for your time this morning.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, Margaret.  Good to be with you.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With George Stephanopoulos of ABC’s This Week

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Franklin Room

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us this morning.  I know you’ve been working through the day, through the weekend.  What is the United States doing right now?  What comes next?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, George, first, to put this in perspective – and as some of your correspondents just said – this is the worst attack on Israel since 1973, the Yom Kippur War, almost exactly 50 years ago.  But there’s a fundamental difference.  That was a war that was state to state, country to country, army to army.  This is a massive terrorist attack that is gunning down Israeli civilians in their towns, in their homes, and – as we’ve seen so graphically – literally dragging people across the border with Gaza, including a Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair, women, and children.  So. you can imagine the impact this is having throughout Israel, and the world should be revolted at what it’s seen.

We have immediately engaged our Israeli partners and allies.  President Biden was on the phone with Prime Minister Netanyahu early yesterday to assure him of our full support.  I was on the phone with the Israeli president, the foreign minister.  The entire government has been engaged throughout the region – and well beyond, both to build support for Israel and to make sure that every country was using whatever means it has, whatever influence it has, to pull Hamas back and also to make sure that we don’t see conflict erupt in other areas.  The President sent a very clear message that no one should try to take advantage of this elsewhere.

QUESTION:  How do you explain this intelligence failure, especially – especially – on the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  George, there’ll be time to look at that and to make determinations about what may have been missed.  And right now, the focus has to be on the effort to get – to repel the aggression by the Hamas terrorists, to push them back, and to put Israel in a position where this doesn’t happen again.

QUESTION:  But there are implications for the United States as well, of course.  We rely on Israeli intelligence, don’t we?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  We have a very close relationship with Israeli intelligence, as well as with the Israeli military, as well as with Israel more broadly.  So yes, of course, this is something that they and we will be looking at.  But the effort, right now, has to be in dealing with the aggression from Hamas with these attacks.  There remains intense fighting around Gaza.  We continue to see that.  The rest of the country right now seems to be calmer.  But the intensity of the fighting is real, and we had about a thousand Hamas militants who infiltrated Israel.  Most of them seem to have either been killed or have gone back into Gaza.  But as I said, intense fighting remains.  So, that’s the focus.  And the focus is also on taking steps to make sure, to the best of their ability for Israel, that this doesn’t repeat itself.

QUESTION:  Can Israel control Gaza if they go in?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Look, I don’t want to get ahead of what Israel may or may not do when it comes to Gaza.  What they need to be able to control one way or another is, as I said, putting in place measures so that this doesn’t happen again.  No country should be expected to live with the fear, the possibility, and now the actuality of terrorists crossing a border, coming into people’s homes, gunning them down in the street, dragging them across the border, and making hostages of them.  That is intolerable for any democracy.  It’s intolerable for Israel.  And one way or another, they’re going to have to take steps to make sure that, to the best of their ability, this doesn’t repeat itself.

QUESTION:  As I discussed with Steve Gannon, the U.S. had been making progress in these negotiations with Saudi Arabia and Israel.  What happens to that now?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  George, it’s no surprise that those opposed to the efforts to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and more broadly to normalize Israel’s relations with countries throughout the region and beyond – who opposes it?  Hizballah, Hamas, and Iran.  So, to the extent that this was designed to try to derail the efforts that were being made, that speaks volumes.  Right now, the focus is on dealing with this attack, dealing with Hamas.  And we’ll come to the normalization efforts, which, by the way, are incredibly difficult when it comes to Saudi Arabia and Israel.  Lots of hard issues to work through.

But if we could get there, that would significantly advance stability in the region.  It would offer so many greater prospects for people in all of these countries.  And there are basically two paths that are before the region right now.  One is the path of normalization, of integration, of people working together.  And by the way, in that and on that path, it’s not a substitute for resolving the differences between Israelis and Palestinians.  On the contrary, it needs to be used to advance that effort as well.  But that’s one path.

The other path is what we’ve seen from Hamas:  terrorism, horror, and something that offers not only nothing to people throughout the region; it offers nothing to the Palestinians.  On the contrary, everything that Hamas does makes their situation, their plight, even worse.  They bring nothing but death and destruction not only to Israelis but to Palestinians.

So, the paths are clear.  We know which path we want to follow.  We’re determined to do that.  But right now, the focus has to be on helping Israel as it defends itself against this terrorist attack.

QUESTION:  Does dealing with Hamas mean dealing with Iran?  Was Iran behind this?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So, there’s a long relationship between Iran and Hamas.  In fact, Hamas wouldn’t be Hamas without the support that it’s gotten over many years from Iran.  We haven’t yet seen direct evidence that Iran was behind this particular attack or involved, but the support over many years is clear.  It’s one of the reasons that over the last couple of years we have been resolutely working against Iran’s support for terrorism, for destabilizing actions in other countries.  We’ve sanctioned more than 400 Iranian individuals and entities, precisely for the kind of support that they’ve offered Hamas in the past.  And it’s something that we remain extremely vigilant about.

QUESTION:  As you know, many in the GOP are laying blame on the Biden administration in the wake of that recent deal to unfreeze Iranian assets that were unfrozen for humanitarian purposes in return for the release of those American hostages.  Here’s what Steve Scalise, one of the candidates for speaker, put out yesterday:

“The Biden administration must be held accountable for its appeasement of these Hamas terrorists, including handing over billions of dollars to them and their Iranian backers.”

Your response?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, look, I’m not going to comment on specific comments by individuals.  I can say this:  It’s unfortunate that some are, in effect, saying things that may be motivated by politics at a time when so many lives have been lost and Israel remains under attack.

And the facts are these and should be well known:  This involved Iranian resources, not American taxpayer dollars; these were resources that Iran had acquired from the sale of its oil that were stuck in a bank, in this case in South Korea.  They have always been entitled to use those funds under our law and under our sanctions for humanitarian purposes, and the funds were moved from one bank to another to facilitate that.  By the way, not a single dollar from that account has actually been spent to date, and in any event it’s very carefully and closely regulated by the Treasury Department to make sure that it’s only used for food, for medicine, for medical equipment.

So, some who are advancing this false narrative, they’re either misinformed or they’re misinforming, and either way it’s wrong.

QUESTION:  Are we in for a long war?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  The challenge for Israel and the challenge for all who support Israel and oppose horrific acts of terrorism is, again, to take measures that provide for accountability for what’s happened; and, also, to do our best to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.  And that is likely to take some time, and it’s fraught with very difficult decisions for the Israelis to make.

I don’t want to speculate, get ahead, get into hypotheticals, but this is – now we’re 24 hours or so into this.  As I said, there remains intense fighting in the Gaza area.  And the focus has to be on helping Israel recover the territory that has been taken briefly by Hamas, protecting its citizens, and taking whatever measures are necessary to avoid this repeating itself.

QUESTION:  Mr. Secretary, thanks for your time this morning.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, George.

Counterterrorism

Secretary Antony J. Blinken With Dana Bash of CNN’s State of the Union

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Franklin Room

QUESTION:  Joining me now is the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  Thank you so much for joining me; I really appreciate it.  First, what can you tell us about what’s going on on the ground in Israel and in Gaza right now, and how worried are you about how rapidly and how widely this could escalate?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, Dana, the first thing to say is this:  This is the worst attack on Israel since the Yom Kippur War in 1973 – 50 years ago.  But there’s a big difference.  That was a conventional war between countries, between armies.  This, a massive terrorist attack on Israeli civilians – indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilians, thousands of rockets; men and women and children dragged across the border into Gaza, including a Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair; people gunned down in the streets, civilians.  So, you can imagine the impact this is having on Israel, and it should be something that revolts the entire world.

Right now, what we’re seeing is relative calm throughout most of Israel but intense fighting continuing to go on in the Gaza area.  We immediately reached out – President Biden reached out to Prime Minister Netanyahu, spoke to him on the phone early yesterday.  I spoke to the Israeli President Herzog, to the Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.  We’ve been on the phones throughout our government over the last 24 hours, engaging everyone in the region and well beyond —

QUESTION:  Yeah.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  — both to make sure that there is support for Israel and that every country is using every effort to pull Hamas back and to prevent this from escalating.

QUESTION:  Well, how concerned are you about that last point that you made, that this will escalate beyond what’s happening in Israel and in Gaza?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, our first focus is to make sure that Israel has what it needs to deal with the situation in Gaza, to deal with the some-thousand militants who came into Israel – again, attacking Israeli civilians in their homes, in their towns.  They, as of now, seem to have been pushed back for the most part into Gaza, but we want to make sure that Israel has what it needs.

At the same time, President Biden was very clear in sending a message to anyone in any other area who might try to take advantage of the situation not to.  And whether that’s in the north with Hizballah and Lebanon, whether it’s in the West Bank, or whether it’s elsewhere, we’ve sent that message very clearly and we’ve sent it directly, and we’ve sent it through other countries.

QUESTION:  When you spoke with your counterpart in Israel, when the President spoke with the prime minister, did they ask specifically for help from the U.S.?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So we, as you know, Dana, provide significant assistance to the Israelis.  We have ever since then-President Obama signed a memorandum of understanding with Israel to provide $3.8 billion a year in military assistance.  We are looking at specific additional requests that the Israelis have made.  I think you’re likely to hear more about that later today.

QUESTION:  Can you give us a preview?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  (Laughter.)  Let me not get ahead of it, but again, we’re – we want to make sure that – President Biden’s direction was to make sure that we’re providing Israel everything it needs in this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas.  And as I said, I would expect that there’ll be more on that later today.

QUESTION:  Before I move on, I just want to ask about any Americans who are in Israel.  Is there any indication that Americans were either killed or kidnapped by terrorists?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Yes, we have reports that several Americans were killed.  We’re working overtime to verify that.  At the same time, there are reports of missing Americans, and there again, we’re working to verify those reports.

QUESTION:  It does seem like this very coordinated attack came out of nowhere.  I want our viewers to listen to what the U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said just nine days ago.

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR SULLIVAN:  The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades.  Now, challenges remain: Iran’s nuclear weapons program, the tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.  But the amount of time that I have to spend on crisis and conflict in the Middle East today compared to any of my predecessors going back to 9/11 is significantly reduced. 

QUESTION:  Well, that obviously has changed dramatically, not just for Jake Sullivan but for all of you.  And this isn’t specifically about anything that Jake missed, but more broadly, about the intelligence failure not just by the Israelis but the U.S.  What can you say about that?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, two things, Dana.  First, what Jake Sullivan said was right.  If you look at the relationship among countries in the Middle East, you saw – with a lot of work by the United States – countries coming together, the region integrating, hostilities diminishing.  And we’ve been very engaged in pursuing, for example, normalization between Israel and its neighbors, building on what’s already been done, including with Saudi Arabia.  And other conflicts, like the conflict in Yemen where we’ve had a truce now for almost two years, have made a huge difference.

What happened over the last 24 hours doesn’t go to state-to-state conflict, where Jake is exactly right – it’s diminished.  This goes to a terrorist attack by a terrorist organization.

At the same time, we have been intensely focused on tensions between Israelis and Palestinians.  That’s why we brought them together in Sharm el-Sheikh, in Aqaba, to try to get both sides not to engage in acts that could precipitate hostilities, violence.  And that, unfortunately, does not include Hamas because it’s a terrorist organization.  And it took action, as we’ve seen over the last 24 hours, that has had a terrible impact, but that’s what was going on.

In terms of the intelligence, there’ll be plenty of time in days to come to look and see what anyone missed, what might have – what we could have done better.  Right now, the focus is on helping Israel and making sure that it has what it needs to deal with this attack.

QUESTION:  Understand.  The U.S. – you mentioned Saudi Arabia.  I wanted to ask you about that, because the U.S., your administration, has been working to help craft a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.  Do you think that this attack was in part to disrupt that, and could that be successful?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Certainly, that could have been part of the motivation.  Look, who opposes normalization?  Hamas, Hizballah, Iran.  So it wouldn’t be a surprise that part of the motivation may have been to disrupt efforts to bring Saudi Arabia and Israel together, along with other countries that may be interested in normalizing relations with Israel.  So that’s certainly a factor.  And I think it speaks to the fact that if we could achieve normalization, which is incredibly difficult – there are a lot of hard issues to work through – but if we could achieve it, it would bring even greater – it would bring greater stability to the region.  It would move the region away from decades of turmoil, decades of conflict.

At the same time, what we’ve been very clear about and others have been very clear about is normalization cannot be a substitute for Israelis and Palestinians resolving their differences.  In fact, it ought to be able to reinforce it, to strengthen it.

So there’s – there are really two paths for the region.  One is a path of much greater integration, much greater stability, and a resolution of the challenges between Israelis and Palestinians, including equal measures of democracy, of opportunity, of justice, and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians.  Or the path that Hamas is engaged in, a path of terror, of wreaking havoc in people’s lives, and of doing nothing to better the lives of Palestinians.  On the contrary, every action that Hamas has taken is only making it worse for Palestinians as well as Israelis.

QUESTION:  Secretary Blinken, do you have evidence that Iran directed this attack?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  There’s a long relationship between Iran and Hamas.  In fact, Hamas wouldn’t be around in the way that it is without the support that it’s received from Iran over the years.  In this specific instance, we have not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack, but there’s certainly a long relationship.  It’s one of the reasons why we have been resolutely taking action against Iran and its support for terrorists and terrorist proxies and other groups over the last few years of this administration.  We’ve sanctioned more than 400 Iranian individuals and entities, precisely because of their support for things like Hamas.

QUESTION:  While we’re talking about Iran, I just have to ask you to – if you want to respond to what we’re hearing from Republicans who are, over and over since this happened, using the word “appeasement” when it comes to Iran and your administration.  They criticize the decision to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds.  I know and want to state that that money, according to your administration, has not yet been unfrozen.  Iran does not yet have it.  But the accusation is that Iran’s posture – excuse me, that the U.S., your administration’s, posture towards Iran has helped contribute to this.  I want to get you – to give you a chance to respond.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, there are two things here.  First, with regard to the funds that you mentioned that were released to – made available to Iran for humanitarian purposes as part of getting Americans back who were being held and detained in Iran, let’s be very clear about this – and it’s deeply unfortunate that some are playing politics when so many lives have been lost and Israel remains under attack.  The facts are these:  No U.S. taxpayer dollars were involved.  These were Iranian resources that Iran had accumulated from the sale of its oil that were stuck in a bank in South Korea.  They have had from day one, under our law, under our sanctions, the right to use these monies for humanitarian purposes.  They were moved from one account to another in another country to facilitate that use.

As of now, not a single dollar has been spent from that account.  And again, the account is closely regulated by the U.S. Treasury Department, so it can only be used for things like food, medicine, medical equipment.  That’s what this is about.  And by the way, the previous administration set up a very similar mechanism to enable Iran to use its oil proceeds that were blocked in various places or stuck in various places for humanitarian purposes.  So people are either misinformed or they’re misinforming, and either way, it’s wrong.

QUESTION:  Before I let you go, I want to ask you about the United Nations saying that they have detected rockets coming from Lebanon toward Israel and that Hizballah is claiming responsibility.  Have you seen intelligence that Hizballah is contemplating a more fulsome attack in the north of Israel and perhaps maybe would even —

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  So —

QUESTION:  — get help from groups like the Taliban or Iran, as we’ve been talking about?

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, one of the reasons President Biden was very clear from the very first moments that no one elsewhere should try to take advantage of this situation is precisely to do everything we can to ensure that there’s not another front in this conflict, including Hizballah in Lebanon.  We saw some limited firing of missiles by – coming from Lebanon toward Israel.  That seems for now to have stopped.  The Israelis responded immediately.  And as of now, that’s quiet, but it’s something we’re watching very carefully.

QUESTION:  Secretary of State Antony Blinken, thank you so much for your time this morning on this very dark, dark day.  Appreciate it.

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Thanks, Dana.

Counterterrorism

Twelfth Meeting of the Law Enforcement Coordination Group Focuses on Countering Hizballah’s Global Terrorist, Financial, and Procurement Networks

The U.S. Departments of State and Justice led the Law Enforcement Coordination Group (LECG), which convened in Europe on September 12-13 for a regional meeting focused on Hizballah’s destabilizing activities in the Western Hemisphere. Governments from across North, South, and Central America participated in this session, along with Israel and Europol.

The LECG was established by the United States and Europe in 2014 as a global forum to improve international coordination with governments from around the world to counter Hizballah’s terrorist and other illicit activities.

Participants discussed how Hizballah utilizes the Western Hemisphere as a key logistical and fundraising platform for its global terrorist activities. The LECG also featured case studies on Hizballah’s recent terrorist and other criminal activities in the region, and governmental actions to disrupt these various schemes. Cases studies included: Hizballah’s use of cryptocurrency; Hizballah’s recruitment tactics; Hizballah’s illicit financial schemes; and a number of recent U.S. and international prosecutions against Hizballah members.

Officials from the U.S. Departments of the Treasury and Homeland Security, as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, also participated in this meeting. The LECG will convene again in 2024.

For further information, please contact CT_PublicAffairs@state.gov.