00:00On the Iran situation, there will be, I believe, you know, maybe more news coming out a little bit later
00:07today on this topic.
00:09And I'll leave it to the President to make further announcements on it.
00:12Suffice it to say that some progress has been made, significant progress, although not final progress has been made.
00:18Ultimately, here's, I remind everybody, I think this ties into the second question that was asked with relations to it.
00:24What is the goal here?
00:25The goal here ultimately, the ultimate goal is that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.
00:30Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.
00:32The President has been clear about that.
00:33They will never possess a nuclear weapon, certainly not as long as Donald Trump is President of the United States.
00:39Related to that is this issue of the Straits.
00:42This is an international waterway.
00:44They don't own it.
00:46It's an international waterway.
00:48And what they are doing now is basically they are threatening to destroy commercial vessels using an international waterway.
00:55That is illegal under any concept of international law that governs us.
00:59If we allowed that to become normal, we would be normalizing an unacceptable status quo and setting a dangerous precedent
01:07that could be replicated here in this region and in multiple places around the world.
01:11So the desire the President has, his preference, is to find a diplomatic way that these problems can be solved.
01:20That's always the President's preference.
01:22He would have much rather have me and the Department of State solve this problem than the Department of War
01:27having to solve this problem.
01:29But the problem is going to be solved one way or the other.
01:31So we've made some progress over the last 48 hours working with our partners in the Gulf region on an
01:37outline that could ultimately, if it succeeds, leave us not just with a completely open straits, and I mean open
01:44straits without tolls,
01:45and with addressing some of the key things that underpin what has been Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions in the past.
01:57So we think we've made some progress on the outline of something that, if it works, could give us that
02:03outcome.
02:03Obviously, that will require full Iranian acceptance and then compliance, and it will require some future work on negotiating the
02:10details.
02:10When you're talking about a nuclear program, as an example, these are highly technical matters and ones that would probably
02:16need to be addressed over some period of time.
02:20On the issue of benefits that they could get from it and whatever domestic criticism they may be, I don't
02:26think anyone's been tougher on the Iranian nuclear ambition than President Trump.
02:30Understand, okay?
02:31Again, I don't know what some of these individual comments have been from different sectors of our politics in the
02:36United States, but I will say this.
02:37There is no one who has been stronger on this issue than President Trump.
02:42Multiple political leaders, multiple presidents of the United States have all said the same thing.
02:46Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
02:48The only one who's tried to do anything and has actually done anything about it in a real way has
02:52been President Trump.
02:53So his commitment to that principle that they'll never have a nuclear weapon shouldn't be questioned by anybody.
02:58And the idea that somehow this president, given everything he's already proven he's willing to do, is going to somehow
03:04agree to a deal that ultimately winds up putting Iran in a stronger position when it comes to nuclear ambitions
03:09is absurd.
03:10That's just not going to happen.
03:12But our preference is to address this through a diplomatic means.
03:15And that's what we're endeavoring to do here.
03:17I think we've made some progress.
03:19I'm always cautious when I say that because you can agree to things on paper.
03:23They actually have to be implemented.
03:25You can agree to things in writing, and then you actually have to go out and do it.
03:29But I do think perhaps there is the possibility that over the next few hours the world will get some
03:34good news, at least with regards to the Straits and with regards to a process that can ultimately leave us
03:42where the president wants us to be.
03:44And that is a world that no longer has to be in fear or worry about an Iranian nuclear weapon.
03:50And so I do think there's some good news on that front, but not final news on that front.
03:55But perhaps a little bit later today we'll have more to say.
03:58But, you know, some progress has been made.
04:00I don't want to downplay that.
04:04But I also want to caveat it by saying we still have some work to do.
04:08We'll see.
04:09For their presence.
04:10Thank you, sir.
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