00:00I didn't even want to talk to you guys. They told me you had to talk to the press.
00:02I was like, all right, let's do it.
00:03There's been some progress. I wouldn't exaggerate it. I wouldn't diminish it.
00:07Are you optimistic?
00:08There's more work to be done, but look, yeah, there's been some, you know, and that's a good sign.
00:11I'm glad they said that. We're not there yet. I hope we get there.
00:14The president would prefer to do a good deal.
00:16Are you optimistic?
00:16But you asked me if I'm optimistic. I don't characterize it as optimistic or pessimistic.
00:24We're going to respond based on the facts as we see them and as they emerge.
00:29So what the president has outlined is his priorities are clear.
00:33Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.
00:35The issue of highly enriched uranium has to be discussed.
00:38Its disposition has to be dealt with.
00:40And, of course, the issue of future enrichment has to be dealt with as well.
00:44We all would love to see an agreement with Iran in which the Straits are open and they abandon their
00:49nuclear ambitions and so forth,
00:51their nuclear weapons ambitions.
00:53That's what we would all hope for, and that's what we're going to continue to work on,
00:56and that's what work is ongoing even as I speak to you now in that regard.
00:59But we also have to have a plan B, and plan B is what if Iran refuses to open the
01:04Straits?
01:05What if Iran decides we refuse to open the Straits, we're going to own the Straits, and we're going to
01:09charge tolls for it?
01:10Okay. At that point, something has to be done about it.
01:13And I would argue that there are countries represented here today that are more deeply impacted by this than even
01:17the United States is.
01:18So all I'm saying, and I've said, and I think this has been reiterated by others, there are other countries
01:23that agree with me on this,
01:25is that we have to start thinking about what do we do of a few weeks from now Iran decides
01:29we don't care, we're going to keep the Straits closed.
01:32Well, the primary interlocutor on this has been Pakistan, and it continues to be, and they've done, I think, an
01:38admirable job.
01:39And that's what we continue to work through.
01:40Obviously, other countries have interests, because especially Gulf countries that are in the middle of all this may have their
01:48own situation.
01:49Going on, we talk to all of them.
01:50But I would just say that the primary country we've been working with on all of this is Pakistan, and
01:55that remains the case.
01:56And it's my understanding he was supposed to go yesterday, but it could be as early as today that Phil
02:00Marshall Meneer could be traveling there very, very soon.
02:04And we're in constant communication with him at the highest levels of our government, are constantly talking to him.
02:10And if it doesn't change, then the president's been clear he has other options.
02:13He prefers the negotiated option and having a good deal, but he himself has expressed concern that maybe that's not
02:21possible.
02:21But we're going to keep trying.
02:23I know our guys are still working on that very hard.
02:25All right, guys.
02:27Thank you, sir.
Comments