During a press conference on Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not answer a question regarding U.S. collaboration with Israel following Saturday's bombing.
00:00In the DST today, we have Colin Anderson with the Washington Free Beacon, who will kick off our question and answer. Colin, go ahead.
00:06Thank you, Caroline. We reported yesterday on a briefing from the Israeli defense minister in which he said the U.S. and Israel are working together to monitor any attempts from Iran to rebuild their nuclear program, and also that if Iran was to do so, the U.S. and Israel would work together to once again destroy that nuclear program. Is that aligned with the president's thinking?
00:23Look, the president, as I said in those opening remarks, Colin, and thanks for being with us today, views the Middle East on its way to peace and prosperity.
00:32And the president used strength on Saturday night. The whole world saw that the United States is indeed the most lethal fighting force in the world with those precision strikes on Saturday evening.
00:42But the president wants peace. He always has. And right now, we're on a diplomatic path with Iran.
00:47The president and his team, namely Special Envoy Whitcoff, continue to be in communication with the Iranians, and especially our Gulf and Arab partners in the region, to come to an agreement with Iran.
00:59As for our alliance with the state of Israel and that friendship and that partnership between the United States and the state of Israel, I would argue it has never been stronger.
01:08And we see a new era in which perhaps some of these Gulf and Arab states can sign on to the Abraham Accords.
01:14So that was one of the president's most signature accomplishments in his first term, and he'd like to see more of those countries sign on in this second term.
01:21And so we look forward to sustaining a long and durable peace in the region, and the president wants to do that through a diplomatic solution.
01:30But as he proved on Saturday night, he's not willing, he's not afraid to use strength if we need to do it.
