Marco Rubio details President Trump's "Project Freedom," a defensive operation rescuing 23,000 civilians from an Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. He asserts Iran violated a ceasefire via drone attacks killing 10 sailors and describes "Operation Epic Fury" sanctions costing Tehran $500 million daily while halting 90% of its trade. Rubio dismisses nuclear denial claims citing 60% enriched uranium, condemns Cuba's regime as incompetent communists, and argues for dismantling Hezbollah to secure Lebanon. He declares the War Powers Act unconstitutional yet warns China that ignoring sanctions risks secondary penalties, concluding that failing to impose costs on Iran sets a dangerous global precedent for controlling international waterways. [Automatically generated summary]
Just yesterday, President Trump told Fox that Iran will be blown off the face of the earth if they attack U.S. vessels carrying out Project Freedom.
And several times, Secretary Hegseth referred to that as a separate and distinct operation from Epic Fury.
Analysts indicating that may be both to restart the clock on congressional war powers authorization and also to draw on support from U.S. allies who depend on the Strait.
And the White House has been imploring to get involved.
Iran's indicating it's not going to back down.
As Parliament Speaker posting today, the new equation of the Strait of Hormuz is in the process of being solidified.
The security of shipping and energy transit has been jeopardized by the United States and its allies through the violation of the ceasefire and the imposition of a blockade.
Of course, their evil will diminish.
We know full well that continuation of the status quo is intolerable for America while we have not even begun yet.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio to talk about all of that next hour.
So I'll have a brief remarks, and then we'll get to your questions.
As you know, over the weekend, the president announced this project, Freedom.
And the goal of it is to, frankly, if you want to talk about it, it's to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries that are trapped inside of the Gulf and left for dead in the Persian Gulf by this Iranian regime.
For more than two months now, these innocent sailors and commercial crew members have been stranded out at sea.
Because Iran is conducting something that's not just criminal.
It's criminal for sure, but it's desperate and destructive, this blockade of the Straits of Hormuz.
Nations from around the world, the overwhelming majority of whom are not even engaged in any military hostilities, are now at risk not just of losing their cargo, but the lives of their own citizens because of this blockade.
These ships, you know, you don't leave a ship out there for this long.
You start running out of food.
You start running out of potable water, essential supplies, and they're at the mercy of this piracy.
What it is, it's piracy.
And not only that, but some of them have seen you know, been open fire on and rained down senseless attacks on several civilian ships already.
So frankly, the way to put it, these are innocent bystanders.
These are countries that and ships and so forth that have nothing to do with any of this and nonetheless are being caught in the middle of it and being held hostage merely because Iran could do that, just because of just as the regime brutally slaughtered tens of thousands of their own citizens for the crime of peaceful protests, because they're unhappy with the quality of life or the lack of quality of life in Iran today.
And so they're sitting ducks.
They're isolated.
They're starving.
They're vulnerable.
and at least 10 sailors have already died as a result of the civilian sailors.
So already many nations privately and some publicly have asked the United States to help free their ships and to restore freedom of navigation in the Straits of Hormuz and this critical artery of global trade.
And so President Trump, as he always does, stepped up and answered the calls for their help.
And he's directed the United States military to guide these stranded ships to safety, to provide a protective bubble under which they can operate and move product and get themselves out of there and out of harm's way.
And this is the first step towards reopening the strait and bringing this regime's last-ditch act of economic arson, bringing that to a close.
We're doing it not only because we were asked, but because we're the only ones who can.
Only we have the power to sort of take the steps that we've taken now.
Under this president, under President Trump, the United States will help our friends.
We're going to stand up to rogue regimes like the one in Tehran.
And we're going to be unashamed to use our power and our abilities to project military power in the service of our national interests above all else.
Now, what's really important for you to report and for everyone to understand is this is not an offensive operation.
This is a defensive operation.
And what that means is very simple.
There's no shooting unless we're shot at first.
Okay, we're not attacking them.
We're not, but if they're attacking us or they're attacking a ship, you need to respond to that.
You're not going to let some fast boat come up on a ship and shoot it up.
We're going to respond to it.
And we've been successful at it.
I don't know what the exact number is, but I know a number of those fast boats have now been targeted and will continue to be if they pose a threat to our forces.
We'll shoot down drones.
We'll shoot down missiles.
But it's defensive in nature.
This is defensive.
So if you hear stories about attacks and launching of firing back and forth, it's not back and forth.
We are only responding if attacked first.
This is a defensive operation, and that's what's occurring here.
Just about the importance of the straits for a moment, this is approximately a quarter of the world's oil trade, along with significant volumes of fuel and fertilizer that operate through the straits of Hormuz.
The Iranian regime cannot be allowed to dictate who uses this vital waterway.
I don't think this is also being reported enough.
Maybe you are reporting.
I don't read everyone.
I don't have any damn outlets here.
I don't know who you all are.
I mean, I know who some of you are, but I don't know who all of you are.
But I will say this about it.
This is an international waterway.
Okay, this is an international waterway and international law is very clear, and I love it, because everybody always talks about international law on this.
International law on this is very clear, international waterways, no country can control them.
There is no international law that allows you to say, i'm going to put mines in an international body of water and i'm going to blow up ships that don't listen to us and try to go through.
That's what Iran is doing.
This is a criminal act and someone needs to do something about it.
Something needs to be done.
It's completely illegal, completely illegitimate and completely unacceptable, and that's why the United States military is guiding stranded commercial Ships safely through the strait and is working to restore freedom of navigation and putting an end to these efforts to hold the global economy hostage.
So far, as a proof of concept and as a proof of function, two U.S. flag merchant ships have successfully transferred the Strait of Hormuz in the first stages of this project, and they're now safely on their way.
The U.S. military is deploying the necessary assets to extend this defensive umbrella over commercial shipping.
But there should be no mistake.
And as I said this already, this is a defensive operation.
I want to reiterate that point.
This is important to understand.
If no shots are fired at these ships and no shots are fired at us, we're not firing shots.
But if we're fired on, we will respond and we will respond with lethal efficiency.
The assets supporting this project, by the way, include guided missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 of the finest military service members on the planet.
These forces have already destroyed, as I told you earlier, I thought it was six, it's seven Iranian fast boats that fail to heed our warnings.
And by fast boats, we're talking about, you know, some of these things look like Boston whalers.
Okay, so these are not like Navy ships.
But nonetheless, they come fast at these boats, try to swarm them, try to harm them.
We're not going to let that happen.
So seven of them now sit at the bottom of the sea, along with, by the way, the rest of Iran's Navy.
That's where you can find their Navy today.
And we're going to continue to systematically clear this passageway through the straits to restore freedom of navigation.
Now, while this project steadily progresses, Operation Epic Fury, economic fury, I'm sorry, continues to impose maximum pressure on the Iranian regime and what remains of their already frail economy.
Today, inflation in Iran is 70%, and their currency is in total and complete freefall.
U.S. sanctions enforcement is stepping up.
It's moving in lockstep with the naval blockade to degrade Iran's capacity to generate, to move, and repatriate revenue.
It directly targets the regime's primary revenue lifelines.
The blockade alone is costing Iran as much as $500 million a day in lost revenue.
90% of total Iranian trade has been halted, causing permanent damage to Iran's oil infrastructure as wells are forced to shut in again.
All of this is in response to their piracy.
Okay, it cannot be that you have these straits and they blow up any ship that moves and the only ships they get to go through are theirs.
You can't have a situation in which the straits are close to everyone else but they benefit from the piracy.
That can't happen.
That's why the blockade is in place and that's why these sanctions are crippling them.
Any foreign financial and, by the way, Treasury is now identifying and cutting off every dollar of revenue that's flowing to this regime.
And so look, any foreign financial institution or commercial actor that enables Iran sanctions evasion is going to face secondary sanctions, exposure and a loss of access to the U.s financial system.
As president Trump has said, and the facts clearly bear out, the United States Of America holds all the cards.
There is no scenario here in which, if they decide to join a ladder of escalation, they wind up getting the last say.
But our preference is for these straits to be opened to the way they're supposed to be, opened back to the way it was.
Anyone can use it.
No mines in the water, nobody paying tolls.
That's what we have to get back to and that's the goal here.
Every day, the conflict continues.
However, our leverage on Iran will continue to increase And their position will continue to weaken, especially as the blockade really begins to bite in conjunction with the sanctions.
So, look, the time's come for Iran to make a sensible choice.
And it's not easy for them to do that, obviously, because they have a fracture in their own leadership system.
And apart from that, I mean, the top people in that government are, to say the least, you know, they're insane in the brain.
And so we need to address that, and it's difficult because it's hard to get past that in their system.
But it's important for them to make a sensible choice and the one that's right for their people.
The president, our president, has proven time and again that his preference is peace.
But Iran must of the situation and come to the negotiation table and accept terms that are good for them, but ultimately good for the world.
The diplomatic path, if there's a real diplomatic path, I'm not sure it's going to be one, but if there's a real diplomatic path and we continue to explore it, Steve and Jared are working on that very hard.
If there is one there, it could be one that leads them to reconstruction, to prosperity and to stability and to not posing a threat to the world.
The alternative is growing isolation, economic collapse, and ultimately total defeat.
I know what the right choice is for Iran.
I hope that the people over there making decisions will make the right one.
The last point I would make, and it really is important for them to understand this, is they really shouldn't test the will of the United States, at least not under President Donald Trump.
He has proven time and again that he will back up what he says.
And if they test him, ultimately they will lose.
The hard way, the easy way, the long way, the short way, they will lose.
And with that, it's time for your questions.
So, Catherine, I'll start with you first.
unidentified
I'm Catherine Harris.
I'm an independent journalist.
Secretary Rubio, have you seen any recent indications that Iran is willing to give up its nuclear weapons program?
That is credible, verifiable, and that would lead to an immediate de escalation?
Well, look, this is a longstanding problem for them, right?
I mean, they have always said they don't want a nuclear weapon.
That's because they've always said that, they just don't mean it.
And why do you say, well, how do you know they don't mean it?
Well, we don't mean it because they're doing all the things and historically have tried to do all the things that you do if you want a nuclear weapons program.
For example, they innovate and try to innovate long range delivery missiles that now, in some cases, are capable of reaching much of Europe.
They build these large underground centrifuges for enrichment activity.
There are many, there are countries in the world that are involved in the enrichment business, but these guys do it in mountains and in caves and in hiding.
They've always had secret components of their nuclear program undisclosed to the world.
And we know for a fact that they retain highly enriched uranium at 60%, that they did so.
And that has no civilian use, none, zero whatsoever.
So they have an opportunity here to agree to something that will make it clear that they're not interested in a new, one thing is to say we don't want a nuclear weapon.
Another thing is to do the things that prove you don't want a nuclear weapon.
By the way, If what Iran wants is a civilian nuclear program for power plants and stuff like that, there are a lot of countries in the world that have that, and they don't enrich.
They import the enriched material.
They could have that if that's what they wanted, but they're not acting like that's what they wanted.
They're acting like they want a military nuclear program.
That's unacceptable.
So that's the process we're engaged in now to create.
That's the object of this diplomacy, is to come up with some level of understanding about what are the topics that they've agreed to negotiate on.
We don't have to have the actual agreement written out, and one day this is highly complex and highly technical.
But we have to have a diplomatic solution that is very clear about the topics that they are willing to negotiate on and the extent and the concessions they're willing to make at the front end in order to make those talks worthwhile.
That's what Stephen Jarrett and the whole team is working on.
And I hope to have good news on it.
That's the outcome we would prefer.
That's the outcome we would have preferred a year ago.
That's the outcome I think most of us would have preferred a long time ago.
But that's not the option they've given us given their activity.
No, I mean, it's a trip we had planned from before, and obviously we had some stuff that happened.
No, look, there's a lot to talk about with the Vatican.
I'll give you one example.
The Pope just returned from a trip to Africa, where the church is growing very vibrantly, and we have shared concerns about religious freedom, religious freedom in different parts of the world.
We'd love to talk to them about that.
The topic of Cuba.
You know, we gave Cuba $6 million of humanitarian aid, but obviously they won't let us distribute it.
We distributed it through the church.
We'd like to do more.
We're willing to give more humanitarian aid to Cuba, by the way, distribute it through the church, but the Cuban regime has to allow us to do it.
They won't allow us to give their own people more humanitarian aid, and we're willing to do it through the church.
So there's a lot to talk about.
unidentified
And the president recently said that the Pope is endangering a lot of Catholics as a result of his rhetoric around the Iran war.
Well, I don't think that's an accurate description of what he said.
I think what the president basically said is that Iran can't have a nuclear.
Nuclear weapon because they would use it against places that have a lot of Catholics and Christians and others for that matter.
It goes back to the central point.
I think the president, without trying to speak for him, but I think I can characterize it this way.
He doesn't understand why anybody, leave aside the Pope, the president and I, for that matter, I think most people, I cannot understand why anyone would think that it's a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon.
Look what they're doing with the Straits right now.
They're holding the whole world hostage.
They have these sailors on commercial ships that are going to starve to death out there.
They don't care.
They don't care that this is melting down the economies around the world, even of their own allies.
This is what they're doing with the Straits.
What do you think they would do if they had a nuclear weapon?
They would hold the world hostage with that nuclear weapon.
That's what they would do.
They would do exactly to the world with a nuclear weapon what they're doing now with the Straits.
And I think the president's point is how anyone cannot see that as an unacceptable outcome and an unacceptable risk is beyond him.
It's puzzling.
And someone has to do something about it.
The difference between this president and the six presidents that preceded him were that he's the only one that's actually been willing to do something about it.
Everyone says Iran can't have a nuclear weapon, but you've got to do something about it at some point.
And he's been willing to address that threat.
And that's what he promised he would do when he got elected, by the way, is address threats like this.
Yeah, look, ultimately, what the president is expressing and I think has repeatedly is he wish the Iranian people had, you know, look, he's heartbroken by these images.
You think about it.
You're an Iranian, okay?
You're unhappy that your economy doesn't work for you.
You don't have freedom.
You don't have an opportunity to express yourself.
You know, you've got friends that have been shot in the head because they're out protesting.
And he just, it's heartbreaking to him to see that these people are abused in this way and have no measures to take against.
their own government as a result of it.
By the way, this goes back, if you guys remember the protests in 2009 where they slaughtered people in the street.
This is a vicious regime, guys.
These are people that hang people from cranes in the town square so everyone can see.
They continue these executions of people and have continued to do so for over a decade and a half now.
And so I think what the president is expressing is the desire that he wishes the Iranian people had an ability to fight back against some of these things that are happening to them.
And I would view that as distinct and separate.
From the specifics of this operation that was ongoing before it concluded, and certainly different from the operation that's going on now.
There's no problem between the Lebanese government and the Israeli government.
Israel doesn't claim any land in Lebanon belongs to them.
And by and large, I think a peace deal between Lebanon and Israel is imminently achievable and should be.
The problem with Israel and Lebanon is not Israel or Lebanon.
It's Hezbollah.
Hezbollah operates from inside of Lebanese territory.
They terrorize and attack Israelis, but they also are inflicting tremendous damage on the Lebanese people.
The reason why Lebanon gets attacked by Israel is because of Hezbollah, because Hezbollah is hiding in some house, launching rockets against Israelis, and then they get hit.
So what you're seeing now is Israeli responses to either attacks or perceived threats.
And this is going to be, this is not new.
This has been going on for a very long time.
What is our hope?
Our hope is to engage the Lebanese and Israeli governments under our mediation at the table to achieve this.
And that is having Lebanese armed forces and a Lebanese government, not just with the willingness, but with the capability to begin to challenge Hezbollah and disarm them.
Because the Lebanese people are also victims of Hezbollah.
And by the way, on the topic of Hezbollah in Lebanon, who is behind Hezbollah?
Why do they exist?
They're an agent of Iran.
If you go through that Middle East and you identify every problem, Hamas, Hezbollah, to some extent the Houthis, obviously, and others.
Behind every one of these groups is Tehran.
So apart from the nuclear weapons, apart from all these other things, these guys are behind all the bad actors.
Hezbollah is a wing.
It's an extension of Iranian desire to destabilize the region.
So we're very committed to this process.
It's not going to be easy.
You're asking me a complex question.
You know this has been going on for a very long time.
It's not going to be easy.
We're going to do everything we can to make sure that both sides continue to talk so that progress can be made on some sort of permanent ceasefire that isn't constantly spoiled by Hezbollah and by Hezbollah violence.
For obvious reasons, I'm not going to broadcast who we're talking to or who we're telling them to move.
I mean, we want these operations to be safe, and I think as it unfolds and ships get through, we'll make those announcements after the fact just for operational security purposes.
But the goal here is pretty simple establish a zone of transit.
that is protected by a bubble, the United States, both naval and air assets, and then allow ships who want to move to move through there and get to market to begin to increase confidence in the ability to do so.
That doesn't happen in 12 hours.
It takes time to set up that bubble and gain that confidence, but that's the goal.
We have been in touch.
We've been in touch, I don't know, with a bunch of different liners about moving, and we're hoping to continue to improve the security situation, and we'll start to see some of that movement, and we'll announce it as it happens after the fact.
We're not going to be like broadcasting, hey, tomorrow at 12, Ship X is going to be coming through for obvious reasons.
because that degrades the security.
But we feel confident we're going to be able to achieve that.
Look, it's not going to solve the whole Straits problem.
It's going to solve a lot of it.
But it's important to challenge what Iran is doing now.
Guys, again, if you take anything away today, and I can't tell you what to write, but Iran cannot be allowed to normalize this control of the Straits.
It's completely unlawful, illegal.
It's outrageous.
And every country in the world should be joining us in condemning it and doing something about it.
But the United States has stepped up and is trying to do something about it.
unidentified
Regarding Colombia, Mr. Secretary, we've had several jurisdictions.
Well, I'm not going to speculate on the politics of it.
You can tell me.
I mean, look, it's obviously being driven by global events.
That was true during the Russia-Ukraine war as well, where you saw that come up.
Look, we don't benefit from the Straits as much as other countries.
I don't know.
You've seen what the gas prices are like in other parts of the world that are really suffering big time.
So we're very fortunate that the United States, I believe right now, is like the world's largest net exporter of oil and natural gas as a result.
Not because of this war, but because we have this capacity.
So we've been insulated to some degree.
We're obviously still vulnerable to some extent to global prices.
In the end, I mean, we're more insulated than other countries, even though that's not welcome news to Americans that are paying more at the pump, no doubt about it.
And it certainly is one of the circumstances of it.
There are people that we're predicting would be much higher at this point, but we're not taking that for granted.
Suffice it to say that this is – think about it this way.
Everybody needs to think about it this way.
If Iran had a nuclear weapon and they decided to close the Straits and make our gas prices like $9 a gallon or $8 a gallon, we wouldn't be able to do anything about it because they have a nuclear weapon.
And a nuclear-armed Iran could do whatever the hell they want with the Straits, and there's nothing anyone would be able to do about it.
And that's one of the many reasons, apart from the massive loss of life and the nuclear strike, why Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.
I mean, so this is an example of if they had a nuclear weapon, they closed the straits and they would tell the world, what are you going to do about it?
We have a nuclear weapon.
We can attack you with it.
That's the world none of us want to leave behind.
It won't happen under this president's watch, but some future president and the future Americans will have to deal with this.
So just one more example of why these guys can never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
Here's what I would say about it the capabilities is the issue, okay.
A lot of countries are left to do something about it, they don't have a navy, right, or they can't get there in time, or they can't others, you know, unless you know that some unfortunately do have a navy are saying, Oh, we'll be involved, but we'll be involved after it's over.
Well, after it's over, it's kind of like you know, doesn't make sense, so you know, we'd like to have it now.
There may be some utility in a post, you know, closure mission, I'm not downplaying that, but I think that's been the challenge.
But there are other ways they can help, unique ways that they can help.
And I don't want to get into who these countries are for obvious reasons, you know, because they are prepared to help us in certain ways, but maybe don't want that publicly disclosed for no other reason than it impacts their foreign policy.
It could have some domestic ramifications.
But ultimately, I don't want to mislead you.
The primary responsibility for this project freedom is on the United States because we're the only country that can project power in that part of the world the way we're doing now.
We're the only ones that can do it, and we're going to do it as a favor to the world.
Understand this.
This is a favor to the world because it's their ships that are stranded.
It's their fuel supplies that are stranded.
By the way, it's their humanitarian.
There's humanitarian aid.
Destined for different countries in the world that's stranded in the Persian Gulf right now.
It's the fertilizer that they need for their food and crops that's stranded in the Persian Gulf, not our fertilizer, their fertilizer.
So we want to be helpful, and that's why the President stepped forward because we're the only ones that can.
Frankly, we're the only ones that can.
unidentified
Mr. Secretary, on the rising oil and gas prices, the President has said that this is a small price to pay for getting rid of a nuclear weapon.
But 10 weeks in, are we any closer to getting rid of Iran's nuclear material?
Yeah, but look, here's the way to think about Iran, and this is what I described at the very beginning of this.
What was Iran's plan?
You have to understand what their plan was.
Their plan was they were going to build this conventional shield where they would have so many thousands of missiles and drones and rockets that they couldn't be attacked.
And behind that conventional shield that they were trying to build, they would then break out and do whatever they wanted with their nuclear program.
They no longer have that conventional shield.
We told you guys from the very beginning, and we're very consistent in this messaging, the operation that has concluded was going to destroy their Navy.
They have no Navy left.
They don't.
Not a Navy.
They have small boats and Boston whalers, but they don't have a Navy left.
They don't have an Air Force.
I challenge you.
When is the last time you read or heard about an Iranian jet flying anywhere?
They don't have an Air Force.
Their missile launching capability has been substantially degraded, and their industrial base, their defense industrial base, has been severely, severely damaged.
So their ability to build a shield behind which they could hide their nuclear program was wiped out.
That's a very substantial achievement, and that was the purpose of this operation from day one.
unidentified
Their nuclear material in order for this war to end.
Well, that's one of the topics that needs to be discussed.
I don't know about – I think you're linking it.
The operation is over.
Epic Fury is the President notified Congress.
We're done with that stage of it.
We're now on to this project of freedom.
As far as a negotiation is concerned, I think the President's been clear that part of the negotiation process has to be not just the enrichment, but what happens to this material that's buried deep somewhere that they still have access to if they ever wanted to dig it out.
That has to be addressed, and that's being addressed in the negotiation.
I'm not going to go further on what progress has been made on that topic because I don't want to endanger the negotiations, but suffice it to say that the President and this entire team is aware of the centrality of that question.
And that will have to be addressed one way or the other.
Well, I think on the second point is the one I want to address first, and that is why should Americans care and why it matters to us?
Because ultimately these things have an impact on the global economy, which ultimately has an impact on our economy in the long term.
That's number one.
Number two, because if we live in a world where a rogue state like this Iranian regime is allowed to claim as a new normal control over international shipping lanes, it will not be long before you see that happen in multiple shipping lanes around the world.
I can identify for you six or seven, six or seven vital shipping lanes around the world that some countries can decide, guess what?
If Iran was able to do it, we're going to do it too.
We're not going to start charging tolls, and it'll get closer and closer to us.
That's unacceptable.
We cannot live in a world.
There's a lot of time and energy been invested behind the idea that international waters are free for the free flow of goods.
The stuff we make in this country and export has to go through international shipping lanes.
And for us to live in a world where a country can decide, now we own the international shipping lane and you have to pay us if you want to use it, that is a normal that we will never be able to accept.
And that's what the Iranians are trying to get us to do.
So we're doing two things about it, and we haven't talked about the second one enough.
The second thing we're doing is we're going to the UN.
Everybody loves the UN, right?
We're trying to go to the UN and we're saying, okay, countries of the world, condemn this.
Say that it is wrong for you to put mines there.
It is wrong for you to shoot at commercial vessels.
Guys, that's what we're talking about here.
These guys are bombing commercial vessels.
They're not bombing naval vessels.
They're bombing commercial tankers.
It's just outrageous.
That needs to stop and it needs to end.
And if he doesn't, then the world should be diplomatically and economically isolating Iran as well.
But if we live in a world where global shipping lanes can be taken over by countries, that'll have a direct impact on Americans in the short and the long term.
And we can't let it start by Iran doing it.
And we're the only ones that can do anything about it.
unidentified
Mr. Secretary, does the President intend to press Beijing on its Taiwan policy when he visits China next week?
As you know, we understand that the Chinese understand our position on that topic, we understand theirs.
And I think both parties, again, without getting ahead of myself of what will happen in the talks, but I think both countries understand that it is neither one of our interests to see anything destabilized happen in that part of the world.
We don't need any destabilizing events to occur with regards to Taiwan or anywhere in the Indo Pacific.
And I think that's to the mutual benefit of both the United States and the Chinese.
But I'm Carol from Lindsay TV, and nice to see you ask you a question today, sir.
How does the State Department interpret the President's recent remarks when he said, quote, The Iranian people need to have guns, and I think they are getting some guns, end quote.
What did he mean, and do those comments relate to any ongoing or potential U.S. actions like supplying those weapons?
Well, I think it goes back to the question I was asked a moment ago.
I think the president thinks it's heartbreaking that the Iranian people are abused by this regime the way they are.
In the end, I mean, this regime is not guys, I know I've said this.
I think I said this in my hearing before the Senate when I got confirmed.
I don't know of any country in the world where there's a bigger difference between the people and the people who run the country.
This country is run by radical Shia clerics.
And that's not what Iran and the Iranian people are.
Now, they may be Shia, but they're not radicals and they're not clerics, and they just want a normal life and a regular life, and in many ways, a very cosmopolitan country with an incredible history, incredible history and incredible legacy and the like.
So there's this huge divide between the people of Iran, whom we sympathize with, and who the president sympathizes with, because they're the ones suffering.
Look, the world is a victim of Iran, okay?
The world is a victim of Iran because they're terrorists, because of what they're doing now in the Straits.
But the people of Iran are daily victims of the regime, and the president has deep sympathy for what they're going through.
And I think he's just expressing that sympathy and that frustration that they don't have the ability to do more to get rid of this regime that has crushed this country and isolated it from the world, which is a country that shouldn't be isolated from the world because its people are phenomenal.
We worked with the Catholic Church on the distribution of humanitarian aid in Cuba.
We share with the Catholic Church a concern about the destruction of religious liberty, the persecution of Christian minorities.
And also, you know, the challenges that are being faced by Christians in Africa where the Pope just recently visited.
So we have a lot to talk about with them, and I engage with them quite a bit on that front.
So the trip is really not tied to anything other than the fact that it would be normal for us to engage with them, and other secretary states have done that in the past.
On the second point about Lebanon, also a question that was asked earlier.
What was the Italian question?
About the expectation that the President oh, no, look, I mean, the Italians have been involved for some time in training the police and training their forces, so we'd love to hear their input on it.
And in the way, look, we welcome everybody's help eventually.
What has to happen in Lebanon, what everybody wants to see, is that you have a Lebanese government with the capability to go after Hezbollah and take the Hezbollah apart.
There shouldn't be, like, there shouldn't be a Hezbollah and a government.
There should be a government.
Everyone should fold underneath it.
And if we do that, then there'll be peace between Israel and Lebanon.
But we have to build the capacity of the Lebanese to do it.
And I think Italy could be helpful in that regard.
Yeah, look, I mean, everyone wouldn't want to see this vetoed again.
And then we've made some slight adjustments to the language, but I don't know if it'll avoid a veto or not.
But the language isn't very complicated.
And I think it's a real test for the UN, right?
As a function, as something that functions that can solve global problems.
What is the purpose of the UN?
The UN was supposed to be a place where you could peacefully resolve global conflict.
Right now, you have a country who is unlawfully, criminally, and illegally taking possession of an international waterway and blowing up commercial vessels and putting mines in the water.
I don't know if people appreciate how outrageous this is, how unacceptable it is that any country would fire and try to sink commercial vessels or put mines in the water.
Both of these things are illegal.
And so we're going to take it to the UN, and we're going to give it another chance to be a forum.
In which we're not even asking people to commit troops to the region and help blow up the Iranian boats.
All we're asking them to do is to condemn it, to call on Iran to stop blowing ships, to remove these mines, and to allow humanitarian relief to come through because there's humanitarian aid that's trapped.
And if you're telling me that the international community and hundreds of countries cannot rally behind that, then I don't know what the utility of the U.N. system is if it can't even solve something as straightforward as that.
And I think to both the Chinese and the Russians, I would argue and have argued that it is in their interest for that resolution to pass and for pressure to be brought on Iran.
Because it is in their interest not to see international waterways, including the Straits of Hormuz, be closed down and cause economic chaos to dozens and dozens of countries around the world.
Yeah, look, I mean, my hope for America is what it's always been.
I think it's the hope I hope we all share.
We want it to continue to be the place where anyone from anywhere can achieve anything, where you're not limited by the circumstances of your birth, by the color of your skin, by your ethnicity, but frankly, it's a place where you are able to overcome challenges and achieve your full potential.
I think that should be the goal of every country in the world, frankly, but I think in the U.S., we're not perfect.
Our history is not one of perfection, but it's still better than anybody else's history, and ours is a story of perpetual improvement.
Each generation has left the next generation of Americans freer, more prosperous, safer, and that is our goal as well.
But it is a unique and exceptional country, and as we come upon this 250-year anniversary, I think we have a lot to learn and be proud of in our history.
It is one of perpetual and continuous improvement, where each generation has done its part to bring us closer to fulfilling the vision that the founders of this country had upon its founding.
would the president say we're going to enforce our sanctions?
I don't have an announcement for you that will have to come from Treasury, but we have sanctions in place.
And sanctions don't mean anything unless you're going to do something about them.
So I think that's been clear.
I think that Treasury will follow up with any specific announcements.
Suffice it to say, we're serious about our sanctions.
Then a cost needs to be imposed on Iran for what they are doing.
Otherwise, if they get away with this, guys, if they get away with pulling this thing off without paying a price for it and backing down, you're going to see multiple places around the world where other countries are going to be tempted to do the same.
This is unacceptable.
Again, I want to reiterate the point.
We keep arguing back and forth about the war and the shooting and this and that or the other.
These guys have shut down an international waterway.
The Straits of Hormuz do not belong to Iran.
They don't have a right to shut it down and blow up ships and lay mines.
And that's what they've done.
That needs to be addressed.
Otherwise, and it cannot be normalized under no circumstances when we live in a world where we accept, okay, this is normal.
You have to coordinate with Iran.
You have to pay them a toll in order to go through the Straits of Hormuz.
Not only is that unacceptable in the Straits, You're creating a precedent that could be repeated in multiple other places around the world.
The whole world should join us in this condemnation, and the whole world should join us in doing something about it, by the way.
It shouldn't just be us.
We're hoping to get countries, we're going to give them a chance to do something about it at the United Nations.
Well, look, they're suffering devastating damage to their economy.
You're right.
But it's not that they're able to withstand pressure, it's that they don't care that their people are suffering.
You understand, right?
There's a difference between.
We can withstand pressure, and we actually don't care.
Now, I think there are people in their system that care more than others.
You know, some of the elected people that you see, some of the people you see on television with the suits on, you know, those guys care because they know at the end of the day they have to live in the reality.
And then you have another element of their government, the clerical, the clerics, the IRGC types, who probably are more immune to that and care less.
They're more interested in regime survivor at all costs.
But ultimately, the pressure points are what they are.
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The Iranian regime is divided, making it very challenging.
Well, it's been challenging to deal with them diplomatically because, for example, an offer will be made and then it takes five or six days to get a response because you have to get it through the whole system.
They have to find the supreme leader wherever he hides.
They've got to get him to sign off.
And that's their system.
Their system has always been multi-layered in this way.
It's obviously become more complex because of the damage they suffered during the war.
But look, suffice it to say, Iran has to pay a price.
They're not going to change their position out of the kindness of their heart.
There has to be a pressure point on them that causes them to realize they cannot continue to close the straits or they face crushing.
Economic consequences, but also global diplomatic isolation, which they have proven in the past to be susceptible to.
But you're right, they have a high pain threshold, but they don't have an unlimited pain threshold.
Yeah, look, the operation, Epic Fury, is concluded.
We achieved the objectives of that operation.
I'm not going to, you know, we're not cheering for an additional situation to occur.
We would prefer the path of peace.
What the president would prefer is a deal.
He would prefer to sit down, work out a memorandum of understanding for future negotiations that touches on all the key topics that have to be addressed, a full opening of the straits so the world can get back to normal.
And he preferred that that be negotiated through the route that Steve and Jared have been working and that all of us have been supporting.
That's the route he prefers.
That is so far not the route that Iran has chosen.
And so the result has been that the United States has to do something about the fact that we're the only nation on earth that can do anything to open up a lane within the Straits of Hormuz to get product and to rescue these people that are trapped in there.
And that's what we're undergoing now.
What that may lead to in the future is speculative.
I'm not going to speculate about what it would take or what it would do.
But look, the message to Iran, these guys are facing, they are facing real catastrophic destruction to their economy, generational destruction to their economy, generational destruction to the wealth of their country, imposed on themselves by the actions that they're taking.
They should check themselves before they wreck themselves in the direction that they're going.