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00:00All right. Good morning, everybody.
00:03Nothing to talk about. Slow news day here in Washington, D.C.
00:07So let me just say a couple of things off the bat.
00:09First of all, I think the President's peace plan in Iran is already bearing real fruits for the American people.
00:15Last night, 12.5 million barrels of oil went through the Strait of Hormuz.
00:20That is a high since the beginning of the conflict.
00:22Oil prices are down nearly at their level from the pre-war conflict.
00:26Gas prices dropped below $4 a gallon today.
00:29For the first time since the conflict.
00:32And importantly, they're going to keep falling further given how low price low oil prices are.
00:36On the military side, the Iranians for the second night in a row did not shoot at any ships in
00:42the Strait of Hormuz.
00:43So so far, they are honoring their end of the commitment.
00:46And on the blockade, CENTCOM has allowed north of a dozen ships to go through our naval blockade.
00:51And so we're also honoring our end of the early part of the agreement.
00:55On the military side, a couple of things that are still true and will be true whether the Iranians comply
01:01with the rest of the deal or not.
01:02Number one, their nuclear program has been completely destroyed.
01:05Their capacity for enrichment, the facilities at which they were using to develop enrichment and develop a potential nuclear weapon,
01:12those facilities are still destroyed.
01:13Their conventional military is still destroyed.
01:16Their capacity to threaten their neighbors is still largely gone.
01:19And now we see whether they are willing to comply with the next step of the president's peace plan.
01:26As you all know, the part of the peace plan, the part of this MOU that I think have been
01:31most misrepresented by certain parts of the media is the idea that the Iranians get all these benefits.
01:36You will hear things about $300 billion or $24 billion or this or that number of money or amount of
01:41money.
01:41And the simple fact is that the only way the Iranians get any of those resources, not a single penny,
01:48by the way, from the United States of America under any circumstances,
01:51but the only way that they would ever get any benefit of the bargain is if they comply fully and
01:57change their behavior.
01:58And so you really have a win-win situation for the United States of America.
02:02If the Iranians don't change their behavior, their military and their nuclear program is still destroyed.
02:08If they do change their behavior, then they are going to have a transformative relationship with the Middle East,
02:14and the Middle East will have a transformative relationship with the people of Iran.
02:18That's a win for the American people and for the president of the United States, regardless of which option the
02:24Iranians ultimately choose.
02:25We obviously want them to choose the right option.
02:27The interesting thing about their system, and I think it's important for the American people to appreciate this point in
02:33particular,
02:34is that there are real divisions within their country about how exactly to proceed.
02:39And what we've seen over the last couple of months is that the pragmatists within the Iranian system,
02:44the people who really do want to transform their relationship with the Middle East and with the world,
02:50those people are winning the argument.
02:52The United States wants those people to win the argument.
02:54The United States wants to have a better relationship, but in order for that to happen, the Iranians have to
03:00perform.
03:01And if they don't perform, as we've said before, they don't get any of the benefits of the bargain.
03:06So what I'd ask all of you is just to report honestly that the United States isn't giving up a
03:11cent of money to Iran,
03:13and even the economic benefits, the sanctions relief and so forth that comes along with this bargain,
03:18only happens if the Iranians perform.
03:21So with that, I want to say thanks to all of you.
03:24It's good to be with you this morning.
03:25And I'll kick it over to questions.
03:27Let's start right over here to the right.
03:28Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
03:30I wanted to ask a follow-up on something you just mentioned.
03:33You talked about the possibility of the current Iranian leadership fundamentally changing their behavior.
03:38Do you think that the current Iranian leadership recognizes the leverage that the U.S. holds over itself economically and
03:45militarily
03:45enough to actually go forth with fundamentally changing their behavior over the long term and going about things differently?
03:52So I certainly think they recognize the leverage that the United States has over them.
03:56We've seen that in a number of our conversations.
03:57We've seen that just in their behavior over the last couple of days.
04:00They certainly recognize that the United States has great leverage.
04:03Will that ultimately lead to a change in behavior?
04:05I don't know.
04:06You know, I've seen skeptics of the deal.
04:08People say the Iranians will never change their behavior.
04:11Well, maybe that's true.
04:13And if so, they don't get any of the benefits of the bargain.
04:15But isn't it worth trying?
04:17Isn't it worth seeing whether this incredibly weakened position
04:20that the President of the United States has put the Iranians under,
04:24whether that motivates them to change their behavior,
04:27not just vis-a-vis the West, but vis-a-vis the Middle East?
04:30And one of the interesting things about this is, you know,
04:33the technical details of this we can, of course, get into.
04:36There are going to be any number of opinions about the negotiation,
04:39about where it's ultimately going to go.
04:41But I tend to think that you should trust the people who know the Iranians the best
04:45and who have the most to lose.
04:46What are the Gulf Arab states saying about this deal?
04:50What are they saying about this deal compared to the JCPOA in 2015?
04:55This is the Obama nuclear deal.
04:57Well, back then, they hated that deal.
04:59They felt like it empowered the Iranians to be bad actors across the region.
05:03And, of course, that's exactly what happened.
05:05They were right about that.
05:06What are they saying about the President's peace deal?
05:09They're saying this is an amazingly transformative thing for the region
05:13because, either way, we and the broader region win.
05:16Iran is weakened.
05:18Their nuclear program destroyed.
05:20Their economy in desperate straits.
05:22And if they change their behavior, big things are going to happen for Iran and for the world.
05:27If they don't, no skin off our backs.
05:29Either way, we win.
05:30And that's the way the President has set up this deal and this negotiation.
05:34The Press, thank you, Mr. Vice President.
05:36Just a quick housekeeping question, which I think you answered in your temper.
05:40But did the 60-day period officially begin yesterday?
05:44I would say the 60-day period officially started today.
05:47It was signed late, and it may have even been signed technically,
05:51because of the time shift.
05:52I think it signed technically today, Iran time.
05:55So, yes, the deal started yesterday.
05:59We're going to start the 60-day clock today.
06:01Go ahead.
06:02The Press, can you help us understand President Trump's shift on his stance
06:06for Iran's ballistic missile program?
06:10Initially, it was a key objective to dismantle it.
06:13Yesterday, he said it would only be fair if they had some,
06:16if the countries around Iran also had some.
06:19So when and why did that change?
06:22And will the final agreement have any restrictions on these missiles?
06:25Mr. So, we destroyed a substantial number of their ballistic missiles
06:29and their ballistic missile launchers themselves.
06:32It's not just the bullets, but it's the actual gun.
06:34And that's what we were extremely effective at in destroying during the last three months of the campaign.
06:39All the President said yesterday is that, of course, countries don't give up the right of self-defense.
06:46Israel doesn't give up the right of self-defense if Hezbollah fires rockets or drones at Israel.
06:51The Iranians don't give up the right of self-defense in their country.
06:55But we do expect that, as part of the final deal,
06:58they are not going to be able to build the kind of missiles that can broadly threaten the entire world.
07:03And that's what the President of the United States said yesterday.
07:05And look, I mean, it's very simple.
07:07You can't tell a country whether Israel or Iran, they're not allowed to have any self-defense.
07:12That's not what the President has asked.
07:13That's not what the President has requested.
07:15But as part of the final deal, what we want to see is Iran not funding regional instability,
07:21funding regional terrorism, and, of course, try to rebuild their nuclear weapons program.
07:25That's the main thing.
07:26The nuclear weapons program is destroyed.
07:29It is gone.
07:30If the Iranians decided tomorrow to build a nuclear weapon,
07:33they simply don't have the capacity in order to do that.
07:35What we're trying to ensure is they don't rebuild that capacity not just a year from now,
07:40two years from now, but many, many years from now so that our children never have to worry
07:44about a state sponsor of terrorism having a nuclear weapon.
07:48The Press, thank you, Mr. Vice President.
07:50You were just saying that you're hoping this deal would prevent Iran in the future from getting a nuclear weapon.
07:57But from what's been put out there of the MOU, I'm curious, how does the MOU reflect that in the
08:03future
08:04Iran will not, in fact, get a nuclear weapon?
08:05What's stopping them from down the road, to your point, rebuilding and restarting from where we were pre-the war?
08:12Well, number one, they would have to get a lot of money in order to rebuild a nuclear program.
08:15You're talking about billions and billions of nuclear infrastructure that the United States destroyed.
08:20In order for them to rebuild that program, they would have to get a lot of money.
08:23And we have them in an economic chokehold right now that we're not going to release
08:26until they fundamentally change their behavior.
08:28What would that look like?
08:29That would mean a real inspections regime.
08:32That would mean a real enforcement regime.
08:33As the MOU contemplates, that would mean the destruction of their enriched stockpile.
08:37All of these things are the sorts of steps you're going to take if you're serious about
08:42ending your nuclear weapons program.
08:43And that, again, is why I go back to this fundamental trade that's built into the deal.
08:48They need money to do anything.
08:50Their economy is in absolute dire straits.
08:54But in order for them to get any integration into the world economy,
08:57they're going to have to show us and verify for us that they are changing their behavior.
09:02And that's why the deal is set up in the way that it is.
09:04Go ahead.
09:05The Press.
09:07President Trump said yesterday that he was going to blame you if the talks of the round go sideways.
09:12Are you worried that he's going to make you the fool guy?
09:14No, not at all.
09:15I mean, I think the President was joking, as he often does.
09:19But, no, I think, look, the entire team has worked very well on this,
09:21and we've got this thing to a very good place for the American people.
09:24Now, I have seen some progressive criticisms of me personally saying,
09:28what experience does the Vice President of the United States have with hostile, high-stakes negotiations?
09:35And I would point those progressive critics to the fact that just two days ago I spent over an hour
09:39on The View.
09:40So I actually have great experience in very hostile negotiations, and I've used that.
09:46I mean, look, Joy Behar is way tougher than the Iranians, and she and I are best friends now.
09:50So we're going to get to a good place here. We're going to get to a good place.
09:54We're already at a good place.
09:55It's just a question of whether we can really get the icing on the top of fundamentally transforming Iran's relationship
10:01with the world.
10:02Go ahead.
10:02The Press. Thank you.
10:03A couple of just timing questions.
10:04How soon, as the MOU lays out, can Iran start selling any of its oil that has sort of been
10:11impounded, right, with the blockade?
10:13And two, can you sort of explain the Lebanon component to the MOU and how that front works?
10:20What are you saying in the enforceability of it?
10:22Yeah, so the Lebanon component, this is about regional peace, right?
10:25This is about regional peace.
10:27And what that means is we expect Hezbollah is not going to be firing rockets and firing drones at the
10:32Israelis.
10:32And we also expect that the Israelis are not going to be going wild in Lebanon, right?
10:36Both sides have to honor their end of the deal.
10:38Now, as you guys know, sometimes these ceasefires are a little messy.
10:42The President of the United States said this a couple of weeks ago that a ceasefire in that region of
10:46the world
10:47just means they're shooting a little bit less at each other than they were before.
10:50What you've seen is radical progress in Lebanon, less shooting, less firing.
10:56But you're still going to have these little flare-ups from time to time.
10:58And that's just the sort of thing that we're going to have to manage through the diplomatic process.
11:02Secretary Rubio has been sort of the person on point.
11:05I mean, it's actually worked out extraordinarily well because we do have substantially less shooting,
11:10but it's going to be something we have to manage.
11:12And eventually what we want to see is the Lebanese government,
11:15the elected representatives of the people of Lebanon who are able to police southern Lebanon
11:19so that Hezbollah has not taken over the country, the Israelis are not threatened,
11:24and then consequently the Israelis are not attacking southern Lebanon or Beirut either.
11:29That's the plan there.
11:30You asked about the Iranian oil.
11:31Look, one of the interesting things that you've seen is that the Iranians have been completely unable to sell oil,
11:39not because of sanctions, but because of the blockade.
11:42Fundamentally, the thing that we have done here, the original, you know, what we give, what they give,
11:47is that we said we're going to lift the blockade, we're going to allow you to sell some of your
11:51oil,
11:52and they're going to open the Strait of Hormuz.
11:54We see that process starting to work already.
11:56It's going to take a little time before it picks up fully, but that's where we are today.
12:00Mr. Vice President, the MOU, just on the Strait, the MOU guarantees these 60 days of toll-free passage,
12:07but after that it has, of course, led to a regional dialogue with Amman and Iran deciding the future governance
12:12of the Strait.
12:13A senior U.S. official told us yesterday that they expect Iran to push aggressively on this,
12:17but also that Gulf states won't allow any kind of tolls.
12:20How strenuously will the U.S. fight to keep tolls out of the Strait
12:24and keep any fees away from the future Strait commercial traffic,
12:27and are you going to leave it to the Gulf states to kind of fight this battle?
12:31Well, first of all, we believe international waterways should be free of tolls,
12:34and that's been our position.
12:35That's what you see, of course, in the 60 days of the MOU.
12:38And when you say it leaves it open, it doesn't really leave it open,
12:41except in the sense that, of course, the final negotiations are going to set the terms of what comes afterwards,
12:47right?
12:48You said, I think that it's the Omanis and the Iranians,
12:52but it's actually the MOU contemplates that the Omanis, the Iranians,
12:55and the Gulf Coast Coalition together will figure out a proper security framework for the Straits in the future.
13:02And what I mean by that is that we don't ever want this to happen again.
13:05That's not about tolling.
13:06That's about ensuring that the Straits are never used as a choke point for the global economy ever again.
13:12It's frankly not what the Iranians want.
13:14It's not what the Omanis want.
13:15It's not what the GCC wants either.
13:17So what we're going to do, of course, working with our allies in the region,
13:20is to ensure that that is reflected in the final deal.
13:23And if that's not reflected in the final deal, there's not going to be a final deal.
13:27And that is – I keep coming back to this fundamental structural point of this negotiation,
13:31which is that we have all the cards.
13:33If the Iranians want the benefits of the bargain,
13:35they have to give us the things that are necessary to get those benefits.
13:40Go ahead.
13:41The Press, Mr. Vice President.
13:42Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
13:44We'll do – but – okay.
13:45Both of you guys.
13:46There's one in the white and then one in, you know, orange, I think.
13:49And what about the pink?
13:51I'm sorry?
13:52Okay.
13:54Maybe I'm colorblind.
13:55It looks more orange to me.
13:56I don't want to have a debate about that.
13:58Orange, pinkish.
13:59You go first.
14:01And then in front of you, you can go second.
14:02Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
14:03Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
14:05How does the points about granting some immediate waivers on sanctions, especially from the Treasury
14:12Department, how does that square with the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act?
14:16And are you planning on briefing Congress on this portion?
14:20Yeah, so I talked to James Braid, our head of OLA.
14:23We do plan to brief Congress very soon.
14:24I believe that they got the formal copy of the signed document this morning.
14:28And if not, they're going to get it at some point later today.
14:30We are planning a briefing.
14:32I believe right now the House is out of session.
14:34The Senate is in session.
14:35Though maybe I've reversed that.
14:37But we're going to ensure that the team briefs Congress and, of course, answers their questions.
14:41We've been doing that informally, of course, talking to a number of people in Congress just
14:46over the last week.
14:47We'll keep on doing that and we'll have a formal briefing.
14:49I won't say exactly when that will be because it depends a little bit about session schedule.
14:54Your point about the sanctions is, I'll go back to what I said earlier, which is really
14:58the choke point on Iranian oil was never the sanctions.
15:01We didn't see that as a major concession to the Iranians.
15:04Frankly, the Iranians didn't see that as a concession to them because what prevented
15:08them from selling oil was not the sanctions.
15:10They were selling plenty of oil without any discount because the sanctions were just
15:15fundamentally ineffective at that point.
15:17What the sanctions did do is move the Iranian financial system to sort of the shadow banking
15:21system.
15:22So by lifting the blockade, that's the significant thing that has changed.
15:26And by lifting the sanctions, we're actually going to be able to see a little bit where
15:30their financial system actually sends money and receives money.
15:33That's a real benefit to the American people.
15:35And that's really the only thing that has changed by the change in sanctions.
15:39The Press, but does that require Congress from the
15:41The Press, sorry, I forgot that part of the question.
15:43No, we don't think so.
15:44We actually have an opinion from OLC we feel quite confident about.
15:47That Congress does, there are certain things that require congressional approval.
15:51There are certain things that don't require congressional approval.
15:54We feel quite confident that we can temporarily lift those sanctions without going to Congress
15:58and seeking their approval on that.
15:59The Press, apparently there's been reports coming out of Israel that Iran is already funneling
16:04oil money to Hezbollah even before this particular MOU was signed.
16:09And how exactly is the U.S. looking at this?
16:15If we're talking about behavior on part of Iran, October 7th happened, and if there's concern
16:22that perhaps Hezbollah could end up doing some sort of attack on that scale, then how exactly
16:29are we talking about the reaction to the United States if we're talking about perhaps a humongous
16:35scale attack that actually could happen?
16:38Are we waiting for that type of attack?
16:40I mean, what exactly is a scale here?
16:43Mr. Sorry, you said what exactly is a scale?
16:47Well, I mean, like, what type of attack would it take to actually get a reaction from the
16:52United States to say, okay, now we're actually going to start dropping bombs on Iran before
16:59having bad behavior?
17:00Mr. Well, we don't want a scale of any attack.
17:02Any attack, whatever its scale, is unacceptable under this agreement.
17:06Now, you asked the question saying that oil money was flowing to Hezbollah before the
17:11MOU was signed, and it's one of the reasons why we are actually engaged in this process
17:16is to ensure that no money is flowing to Hezbollah.
17:19So it's interesting where people will say that the MOU is bad because the MOU produces consequences
17:26that were actually happening well before the MOU was signed.
17:29That's not a reflection on the MOU.
17:31That's a reflection of why we need the MOU to ensure that we have the regional peace
17:36and stability that we need.
17:38Now, what I would say to, you know, some of the critics of the deal that I've heard that
17:43will say, well, Iran's going to get all this benefit.
17:46I'll repeat what I've said, and I'm probably going to have to repeat it a number of times, is what
17:49is the benefit
17:50that the Iranians get that they didn't have before?
17:54And the answer is nothing.
17:56They don't get anything unless they change their behavior.
18:00If they change their behavior, that is a thing to celebrate.
18:03That's going to transform the Middle East for a generation.
18:05If they don't change their behavior, they don't get the benefit of the bargain.
18:08And I think I got to be honest, I think fundamentally, fundamentally this idea that it's a misrepresentation of the
18:17MOU,
18:17this idea that the Iranians get all these benefits before the deal is actually consummated.
18:23The idea that they get benefits before they change their behavior is fundamentally a talking point
18:29that is issued by people who want the conflict to continue indefinitely, despite the fact that that's not good for
18:36the American people
18:36and it's not good for the region.
18:39All the way in the back.
18:42All the way back in the red.
18:43Thank you so much, Mr. Vice President.
18:45Kara from Wendell TV.
18:47Red here, you mean?
18:48Are you sorry?
18:48We'll do.
18:49Okay, sorry.
18:50I'm wearing bright red.
18:51So many people are wearing red.
18:52You can go first, Kara, right?
18:54Thank you, Kara.
18:54Okay, and then next, after that.
18:56Okay, great.
18:56Could you highlight the major differences between this deal and President Obama's deal in 2015
19:01and why the administration believes that this deal is superior?
19:05Sure.
19:05And then, Mr. Vice President, President Trump has been vocal lately about his disapproval
19:10for Bibi Netanyahu's attacks on Lebanon.
19:13Has the administration spoken to Bibi Netanyahu directly about the President's concerns recently,
19:18and what is the feedback from Israel?
19:20Yeah, so we speak to Bibi or speak to somebody in the Israeli government, just as we speak
19:26to the Gulf Coast Coalition, our regional partners, pretty much every day, at least at some high
19:30level of our government.
19:31Look, the President has been very clear.
19:33He does not withdraw from Israel.
19:35No one could withdraw from another country the right of self-defense.
19:39Israel has the right to defend itself.
19:41But fundamentally, the Israelis, just like everybody else, have to respect this peace
19:46process that is fundamentally good for them and good for the entire region.
19:50What the President has grown frustrated sometimes is that we seem to be right on the cusp of a major
19:54breakthrough
19:55in the agreement, and then all of a sudden there's a major explosion that goes off in a civilian population
20:00center in Beirut, and a lot of people who have nothing to do with Hezbollah lose their lives.
20:04That's not acceptable.
20:05That's the sort of thing that we've asked for closer coordination so that we ensure it doesn't happen.
20:09And our message to the Israelis, just as our message to everybody else, is fundamentally,
20:13we want this peace process to be good for you.
20:16We do not want Hezbollah attacking Israel.
20:19But in order to ensure that that happens, we have got to actually build the kind of regional framework
20:25that can cut off the money to Hezbollah, cut off Iranian support for Hezbollah,
20:29and also ensure that Lebanon's territorial sovereignty is respected by all parties.
20:35And the difference between the two agreements.
20:37So, first of all, the two big differences are not even in the substance of the deal itself,
20:44but something I said earlier are, number one, the Gulf Coast coalition loves this deal
20:51because they think that it makes Iran weaker.
20:53They hated the Obama deal because they thought that it made Iran stronger.
20:56They know more about this, and they have more to lose than anybody, including the United States of America,
21:01so I trust their judgment.
21:02The second thing is where the deal came from.
21:06You have to remember, in 2015, Iran had built a sophisticated nuclear weapons program with a nuclear weapons stockpile.
21:13So the perspective that we came at as the United States was, you already have a really nice nuclear program.
21:18We're going to bribe you with American money in order to stop it.
21:22Our perspective, and where we're coming at it, is we already destroyed your nuclear program.
21:28And so, if you promise and show verifiable pathways to not rebuild it,
21:35then we're willing to give you some sanctions relief and things like that.
21:38So it's a fundamentally different perspective.
21:40Now, there are all these substantive differences as well.
21:42The Obama nuclear deal allowed enrichment. Ours will not.
21:45The Obama deal allowed the accumulation of stockpiled weapons-grade material.
21:50Ours is actually leading to the destruction of that stockpile of enriched material.
21:54So there are many differences.
21:55The Obama deal gave them over a billion dollars of American money.
21:59This deal gives them zero dollars of American money.
22:02So a lot of substantive differences, but I think the most important differences are where we're coming at it,
22:07from a position of strength, and the fact that our Gulf Coast partners love this deal.
22:13No, no, sorry. I said the other all the way in the back. Thank you.
22:17Mary Margaret with the Daily Wire.
22:18The President has said that if Iran doesn't behave themselves, we're going to resume military action.
22:23So what is the red line for what Iran can do before they cross that red line and we do
22:29resume military action?
22:30Well, it's just it's going to be a holistic approach where we look at their behavior.
22:34Are they funding terrorism? Are they leading to attacks of other people?
22:38Are they trying to get centrifuges to redevelop their nuclear weapons program?
22:41There are all these questions that we're going to ask about whether they've actually changed their behavior.
22:45Do they allow the inspectors in as they have promised that they would do?
22:48Or do they refuse to allow those inspectors in?
22:50A whole host of things we're going to see.
22:53We're working towards a very successful resolution of this process.
22:56But again, it takes two to tango.
22:57And what the President is just saying is that we maintain economic, diplomatic, and military leverage that nobody else in
23:04the world has.
23:05So if the Iranians want to change, great. We're going to help them.
23:09If they don't change, we still got all the cards.
23:12Thank you. Yeah.
23:14Oh, sorry, in the blue jacket.
23:16This one right here, Mr. President.
23:19That's a navy jacket.
23:21Should we have a debate about the difference between blue and navy?
23:24Not that guy, because you give a speech whenever you ask a question.
23:28I'm going to give her an opportunity.
23:29Sir, have you seen the Pope's reaction to this?
23:32Hold on.
23:32There's been a lot of frustration among the citizens.
23:34Guys, you're speaking over the person who's asking the question.
23:37There's been a lot of frustrations with Americans, particularly about the gas prices.
23:40You touted the fact that the Communist Party President has gone up to social, touting this.
23:44But when should they expect to see gas reach that $3 threshold?
23:49Well, I'm not an economist, and I think even the economists would get this wrong.
23:52But the fact that you've seen gas come down about 65 cents a gallon on the national average,
23:56and the fact that you see oil prices that are basically close to where they were at the very beginning
24:03of the conflict,
24:03I think you're going to see a substantial reduction in gas prices.
24:06I'm not going to predict the exact price.
24:08If I was able to do that, I might be in a different business than politics.
24:11But we do think you're going to see significant relief at the pump on top of what we've already seen.
24:18You keep saying that Iran will only reap economic rewards if they comply and change their behavior.
24:24But under this deal, they are being allowed now to sell their oil freely.
24:28Again, how is that not a financial benefit?
24:29And they're being allowed to do that without making any new concrete nuclear commitments.
24:34So can you explain how is that not lopsided?
24:37Well, first of all, they've made very concrete nuclear commitments.
24:40They have committed to the destruction of the highly enriched stockpile that they have in their possession.
24:44But number two, all we've done is lift the blockade and the Straits of Hort.
24:49We basically returned it to where it was before the conflict.
24:51The blockade is off.
24:53We put that in after the conflict started.
24:55The Straits are now open.
24:56That's not a new benefit to the Iranians.
24:58They were selling oil for many, many years, well before we ever put the blockade.
25:03We opposed that blockade.
25:05They stopped selling oil.
25:06And now we've lifted the blockade in order to promote the free flow of energy across the world.
25:11Go ahead.
25:13A U.S. official described having secured some of these quote-unquote gentleman's agreements
25:17with Iran on certain aspects of the negotiation.
25:20So when it comes to highly enriched uranium, can you walk us through what's been secured,
25:24even in these kind of gentleman's agreements, on how exactly they're going to get rid of
25:29the stockpile?
25:29Are there agreements on low-grade enrichment?
25:32How long is the moratorium on enriching uranium for Iran?
25:36And are any of these gentleman's agreements written down anywhere?
25:40So some of them are written down.
25:42But fundamentally, whether they're written down or spoken, this is why we structure the
25:45deal that we did, because we don't trust words.
25:47We trust action.
25:48And we trust conduct.
25:49And so we're going to reward conduct, and we're not going to reward any words, whether
25:53they're written on a sheet of paper or not.
25:55There's a lot of discussion, the MOU, the gentleman's agreements, the final deal.
26:00Words don't matter, ladies and gentlemen.
26:02We're about verification.
26:03And so what we're going to do is to say, if they do the things that they have promised
26:07to do, they have promised not to enrich.
26:09They have promised that they would allow inspectors in to destroy that highly enriched
26:13stockpile.
26:14And then, of course, it's not usable anymore.
26:16You take it somewhere else.
26:17They promised a number of things, and that's why the deal contemplates a number of benefits
26:21if they do those things.
26:23But it doesn't do anything if they don't actually meet those promises.
26:27Just a follow-up on that, sir.
26:30If they don't follow through with their commitment, will the U.S. go back to imposing sanctions
26:35and the blockade, or does Iran get to keep some of the concessions that it has already secured?
26:40Well, first of all, the sanctions are still on, with the exception of the oil sanctions,
26:45which I talked about, were no longer effective.
26:47The purpose of the oil sanctions is to drive down how much Iran is charging for a barrel
26:53of oil.
26:54Those sanctions had stopped being effective.
26:56The blockade is what's effective.
26:58And again, that's the thing that has changed in accordance with them opening the Strait of
27:02Hormuz.
27:03No sanctions will come off unless they perform the benefit of the bargain, and every sanction
27:07will come back on.
27:09Hypothetically, let's say two years down the road, they've done what we need to see on the
27:14nuclear program and we release the sanctions as the deal contemplates.
27:18Then they decide they're going to start rebuilding the nuclear program.
27:21Then, of course, those sanctions are going to come back on.
27:23And that's why it's really kind of like a dial.
27:25As they dial up their good behavior, we can dial up the economic relief.
27:28If they dial down their good behavior, we can turn it off.
27:31It's the good thing about having the leverage, and it's a good thing about being the United States
27:35of America, where we just fundamentally have so much influence in the world financial system.
27:39Go ahead.
27:40Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
27:42Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
27:43Leader Thun said it's unrealistic to get the Save America Act passed by attaching it to
27:48FISA, which is what the President is looking for.
27:50Do you believe this is possible?
27:51Well, why don't we try?
27:53Why don't we try and at least force people to vote against it?
27:56One of the things that sometimes frustrates me about the legislative process is that people
28:00will go into it saying, this isn't possible, therefore we're not even going to try.
28:04Well, let's actually see.
28:06Let's try it.
28:07And if it's not possible, then let the people put their name on it.
28:10This is also good for the American people.
28:12How many American senators know that the American people love the Save America Act because they
28:19believe in voter ID?
28:20But how many of those same senators don't want to vote for it because they know that the
28:25radical elements within their own party would punish them for it?
28:27Let people go on the record and actually answer to the American people, which is why I think
28:32we should do exactly as the President said.
28:34Rob.
28:35The Press, thank you very much.
28:42On Monday we were told the MOU will be published within 48 hours.
28:47The President then said after Friday.
28:51You, I think, then said by Friday.
28:53And then it ended up being read out on a briefing call yesterday.
28:56We were told the MOU had been signed electronically on Sunday.
29:00There was an Axios report that it hadn't been.
29:02There's going to be a signing ceremony on Friday.
29:04And then it signed at Versailles yesterday, last night.
29:09Is what's going on behind the scenes as chaotic as your public messaging?
29:14Well, I don't think our public messaging has been chaotic.
29:18I think dealing with a fractured Iranian system where communication isn't great is just
29:23sometimes something that we don't fully appreciate or we don't fully understand.
29:28What really happened here is that we did sign the MOU on Sunday.
29:32That locked into the terms of the deal.
29:35What the Iranians came to us and said is we'd like not to release the text until Friday.
29:39We don't – I don't really understand that.
29:41I wanted to get the text out immediately.
29:42But in order to be accommodating to them, we said, sure, okay, we'll wait until Friday.
29:46And then what happened over Monday, Tuesday, the president was in G7.
29:50Maybe foreign leaders were talking to the Iranians and encouraging them to do that.
29:53We were definitely saying to them, we understand your desire not to have the text out until Friday.
29:58But, you know, we live in a democratic system.
30:01The American people want to see the text of this deal.
30:03We would certainly like to get it out as soon as possible.
30:05And so they came up with having their president sign it, our president sign it,
30:10and then just releasing the text as a signed document immediately at that point.
30:14I do wonder, Rob, just – this is pure conjecture.
30:18I'm just guessing at this.
30:19I wonder if part of it is that they wanted to have a Persian translation,
30:23a Farsi translation that they felt good about.
30:26And then, of course, once they translated into Farsi,
30:28our State Department has to confirm that the Farsi translation matches the meaning of the English.
30:33I think that is part of what was going on here.
30:36But the text is out there now.
30:37We said that we would be transparent about it.
30:39But the reason why it went back and forth a little bit about when exactly the text would be released
30:44is just we were trying to show good faith to the Iranians who, for reasons I have no idea,
30:49cared a lot about how the text itself was rolled out.
30:52Blue tie there.
30:55Thank you very much.
30:56Thank you very much, Mr. Vice President.
30:58As you know, because you were involved in this process,
31:01the MOU allows for Iran to sell its oil right away,
31:05which means that Iran can take in on a monthly basis tens of millions of dollars.
31:12Iran's economy was in tatters.
31:15How is this not essentially giving a lifeline to Iran economically?
31:21And what's to prevent Iran from using all of that money,
31:24all of those millions of dollars, to prop up its proxies in the region?
31:28Well, the number one thing is that we actually see where the money moves now.
31:32Because of what we've done with the financial sanctions,
31:35we actually know where the money is going to move.
31:37And so we have great confidence that we're going to be able to see if they try to fund terrorist
31:41organizations.
31:42We're going to be able to see that.
31:43But you said that millions of dollars is a lifeline.
31:46Right now, the Iranian nation is a nation of 94 million people.
31:51Their economy is in a free fall.
31:53They have sky-high inflation.
31:55And fundamentally, about a trillion dollars of damage to their industrial base was caused over the last three months.
32:02The idea that selling a few million dollars worth of oil is going to fundamentally transform the Iranian economy,
32:11that's just not true.
32:13We thought that it would be good in order to lift the blockade and open the Straits of Hormuz,
32:17to allow the free flow of energy.
32:19We felt that it was reasonable that if we're going to allow everybody else to sell their energy during this
32:23period of negotiation,
32:24we would allow everyone to sell their energy.
32:27That's all we're doing.
32:28We can slap everything right back on if the Iranians don't make the deal that we expect.
32:33Yeah.
32:34Mr. Vice President?
32:36Me?
32:37Mr. Vice President?
32:38Either one.
32:39Either one.
32:40Mr. Vice President?
32:41Mr. Vice President?
32:44Mr. Vice President, so President Trump said we'll finish one, talking about Iran.
32:49And he said then Cuba is next.
32:51Is Cuba next?
32:52And also on Colombia, Mr. Vice President, he has mentioned Colombia three times this week.
32:57Why is it so important, the election day in Colombia for President Trump?
33:01You guys have to ask Marco about Cuba.
33:02That's not –
33:03The Press President, please.
33:05MR.
33:06Look, our view – go ahead in a second, but let me just actually ask this guy's question.
33:12Fundamentally, in Cuba, it is a system that hasn't worked.
33:16They can't make any money.
33:17Their economy is, frankly, probably in a worse shape than the Iranian economy.
33:21It's 90 miles from our shore, so every time that there's a crisis you end up having desperate
33:26refugees or desperate people who can't feed their families trying to flood into our country.
33:31We want the people of Cuba to be happy and successful.
33:34We're actually talking to the Iranian or, excuse me, the Cuban government right now
33:37about how they could change their ways to change that.
33:40We're going to see what they do, and obviously if they do one thing, we're going to do something.
33:45If they make smart decisions, we're going to have a much better relationship with that
33:48island.
33:48Go ahead.
33:49The Press, Mr. Vice President, thank you so much.
33:53I know that you are still not sure if you are going to run for President in 2028, but
33:59if you do not, is there anyone in particular that you would want to see run?
34:05Mr. What's your name?
34:06The Press, Stephen Kapuska.
34:08The Press, I want Stephen Kapuska to run for President in 2028.
34:13Go ahead.
34:15Go ahead.
34:16The Press, thank you, Vice President.
34:17The Press, I've got two questions.
34:19Could you describe the status of your Switzerland trip?
34:22Are you definitely still going?
34:24What are your plans?
34:25And also, if we could drill down on frozen funds.
34:28There's been a lot of focus on oil sanctions.
34:30But on frozen funds, what's your understanding of how much money is frozen?
34:35How much of that is in the U.S.?
34:37And a senior administration official briefed some of us reporters earlier this week that
34:42there might be small antis, is what he said, like small releases of money to build trust
34:47with the Iranians early on.
34:48Could you describe that whole situation?
34:51Mr. So, on the frozen funds, the amount of money, I honestly don't know.
34:55I've heard numbers north of $100 billion.
34:57I've actually heard numbers north of $200 billion.
35:00Most of it is not in United States accounts.
35:02Most of it is either in the Gulf or in Europe or somewhere else.
35:05But I don't know the exact amount of money.
35:07It's a lot.
35:08It's one of the reasons why we've had such a successful chokehold on the Iranian economy,
35:13though not even close to the main reason.
35:16We're not releasing a single dollar of that money until the Iranians perform.
35:20And there are a number of ways they could perform.
35:22For example, let's say they actually take meaningful steps.
35:25And this could happen very quickly to destroy that stockpile of enriched material.
35:29Then we're going to have a conversation about it.
35:31But they have to perform.
35:33I've seen some reports.
35:34I don't know where this came from.
35:36That the Qataris had released billions of dollars in Iranian assets.
35:40That's just not true.
35:41It would be impossible for the Qataris to do that without our buy-in and certainly without
35:45us seeing it.
35:45So a lot of this reporting is just fundamentally wrong.
35:48They don't get a dollar of unfrozen assets.
35:51Their money, not our money.
35:52But they don't get a dollar of unfrozen assets until they actually perform under the deal.
35:56You asked about Switzerland.
35:58Our plan is to go to Switzerland.
36:00I don't know exactly when.
36:01The way that we're setting up this technical negotiation is that obviously you're going
36:06to have the political leadership involved.
36:08Excuse me.
36:09We're going to have people on the ground actually driving the technical talks, the nuclear talks.
36:14How do you destroy this highly enriched uranium?
36:16All that stuff that you really just have to get into the nitty gritty on.
36:19So I plan to go to Switzerland exactly when.
36:23We thought we think these technical negotiations are going to start sometime this weekend.
36:27That's still the plan.
36:29But that could change because it's not an easy country, Iran, to get out of.
36:33And so we're trying to figure out exactly when that's going to happen.
36:35I suspect this weekend, but I'm not sure.
36:39So you're not going tomorrow to Switzerland?
36:41Mr. I may.
36:43It just depends on exactly when the Iranians can get there.
36:45We're trying to figure that out as we speak.
36:47But again, I suspect it will happen this weekend.
36:49We're going to find out exactly whenever the coming days.
36:52Go ahead, Mayor.
36:53The Press.
36:53Thank you so much, Mr. Vice President.
36:55Just two questions for you.
36:56To follow up on an earlier question, Secretary Rubio said in March that the goal of this war
37:02was to, quote, to eliminate the threat of Iran's short-range ballistic missiles.
37:06You just said earlier that the military program is destroyed.
37:10U.S. intelligence estimates that Iran still retains roughly 70 percent of its pre-war ballistic and cruise missile stockpile.
37:17So when did the administration decide to abandon that part of the original mission?
37:21And then just second as well, moving forward, are you leading the U.S. team moving forward in terms of
37:26the negotiations?
37:27How involved will you be?
37:28Mr. Yes, so I'm certainly planning to lead the U.S. negotiating team.
37:31But on the first question, you talked about an intelligence report that was anonymously leaked.
37:39What has changed about the Iranian Ballistics Missile Program is it matters much less the number of missiles they have,
37:51the number of bullets.
37:52What matters much more is the number of launchers they have and, importantly, the teams on the ground that have
37:57the capacity to launch those missiles.
37:59Their ability to launch missiles has been substantially degraded.
38:02Is it zero? No, but it's substantially degraded.
38:05And in that sense, we haven't abandoned the mission.
38:08We have accomplished that particular part of the mission.
38:10If you look at the Gulf Arab allies, and obviously the Israelis who faced a lot, the two of them
38:15together, faced a brunt of these missile attacks,
38:18each of them feels substantially safer today from the Iranian missile threat than they did before.
38:24Obviously, that is something that we would like to continue.
38:27All the President said yesterday is that you can't expect any country to give up its right of self-defense.
38:34You have to have parity, and that's what the President of the United States was talking about.
38:38Go ahead.
38:42No, no, guys, guys, guys.
38:44Have you seen Leo's reaction to the MOU, the Memorandum of Understanding?
38:49I haven't.
38:50What did he say?
38:50All right.
38:50Okay.
38:51I'll give you the short version.
38:56He says he welcomes the agreement between the U.S. and Iran.
39:00He says he hopes it will help strengthen mutual trust, security, and stability in the Middle East.
39:06And he also hopes that it's truly a solution to the war and that the war is really over.
39:11What do you say to the Pope, sir?
39:12My response to that is praise Jesus.
39:14I'm glad that the Pope has positive things to say about our MOU.
39:17And it's sad for you.
39:17I think that the Pope is fundamentally accurate and it's going to be good for the entire world.
39:22But we've got to keep working at it to make sure that the Iranians honor the commitments that they've made.
39:26And then, yes, you left front.
39:27Go ahead.
39:27The Pressuel, though, guys, the thing is, there's so many people in here, I can say the red tie and
39:36then nine of you start shouting at us.
39:38The burgundy tie?
39:41The Pressels we call for a U.S.
39:42The Pressuel for President
39:46for the U.S.
39:46U.S. troop withdrawal from the Gulf region tied to the final deal. Can you say whether
39:51the drawdown will affect U.S. forces past Iraq and Syria, where American troops currently
39:57help protect Kurdish-held areas from Iranian-backed militias?
40:01MR. Okay, so the drawdown contemplated, again, this is the final deal. This is assuming
40:05that the Iranians comply, that they give us verification, that they take real, substantial
40:10conduct towards this peace agreement. What we're saying is that we will withdraw troops
40:15to the pre-conflict level, meaning we're not going to keep a couple of extra aircraft carrier
40:20groups over there. The Iranians don't want that. Frankly, we don't want that either. Go
40:23ahead.
40:25Q You said the U.S. is not going to be funding that $300 billion fund. Who exactly is funding
40:30that? Is that private companies? And I also noticed that your voice is hoarse. Are you
40:34sick? Have you been using your voice a lot?
40:37MR. Well, I've been on a bit of a book tour the past couple of days, but I can't
40:40promote my book here in the White House press briefing room. I had a cold about a week ago
40:45that, and talking a lot about this deal and talking a lot about the book, I'm definitely
40:48a little bit hoarse. But you asked, your first question was about?
40:52How exactly is funding that $300 billion fund?
40:54MR. Oh, I see. So what's interesting about this is there is a great desire from
41:01the Arab world and from outside the Arab world to actually get involved in Iran if they behave
41:08properly. So, for example, let's say the United Arab Emirates, who have been a great ally over
41:12the last, not just a few months, but over the last many years, let's say that they would
41:16like to invest in building a power plant. That actually is impossible right now because
41:19of the way that U.S. sanctions work. And so what we're saying is that if you behave and
41:25if the Emiratis themselves want to build a power plant, then we will do the sanctions relief
41:30necessary to make that possible. The good thing about that is that it actually creates
41:34integration, which is leverage. A world where the Gulf Coast Coalition has greater leverage
41:41into the Iranian economy is a world where the Iranians are going to be heavily prevented from
41:47misbehaving. So it's a lot of the Gulf Coast Coalition. Again, they see that Iran is weakened.
41:51They see there's an opportunity to build a new relationship there. And they're saying if they
41:55behave and if the United States is willing to allow this to happen, then absolutely we want to
42:00change our relationship with Iran.
42:02The Press, Mr. President, is that what I see on this?
42:04MR. Well, I mean, I assume that in the United Arab Emirates there would be private money and so forth
42:08that would be part of this. But again, this is so far in advance because it assumes a transformation
42:14in Iranian behavior. Sir.
42:16The Press, thank you so much, Mr. Vice President. As you know, the Iranian-backed groups in the region
42:20were involved in this war, and they damaged U.S. facilities and your allies as well. How does this
42:25agreement affect Iran-backed groups across the region, especially the Iranian-backed groups in Iraq?
42:30And my second question, this agreement requires Iran to stop attacking the Kurdish opposition in Kurdistan region,
42:37which they did two days ago?
42:39MR. So what this agreement does fundamentally is it requires Iran to behave like a normal country.
42:43And if it doesn't, as so many people think that it never will, then it doesn't get any of the
42:48economic benefits.
42:49And if they do, then that's a great thing for everybody. It's a great thing for the Kurds.
42:53It's a great thing for anybody who has been under the brunt or under the threat of Iranian-funded terrorist
42:59organizations.
43:00The expectation is that Iran will stop that. And if they don't, they don't get the benefits of the bargain.
43:05John.
43:05The Press, thank you, Mr. Vice President. Many of the colleagues that you served with in the U.S. Senate
43:10and Republican Conference
43:12have criticized this deal over the last 24 hours. What is your message, Mr. Vice President, back to that?
43:20MR. So I guess I would say to anybody, any of the critics, is number one, have a little bit
43:25of faith in the President of the United States.
43:26The idea that he is going to strike a deal that's been bad for the American people, it's preposterous.
43:32He is the person who has had the courage to fundamentally transform our relationship with Iran and with a lot
43:37of other countries over the last year and a half.
43:39He believes in this deal. He is going to see it to completion. And if the Iranians don't comply, we
43:45still have every single tool and point of leverage that we have today.
43:49That would be message number one, is have a little faith in the President's ability, given that he's got us
43:53this far, to take us the final step.
43:55The second thing that I would say is, so many of what I've read or heard that people believe about
44:01this deal is just fundamentally untrue.
44:03It is a memorandum of understanding. It is fundamentally a principle that yes, the Straits of Hormuz are going to
44:09be open immediately, and they already are.
44:11Yes, they're going to give up their highly enriched material, but they've got to actually do it. It's about conduct.
44:17It's about rewarding good conduct and punishing bad conduct, which in some ways is what we've been doing for the
44:23last three months vis-a-vis that country anyway.
44:25So, so many of the criticisms, I saw Lindsey Graham came out with a positive statement after expressing some concerns.
44:32I think that when people get to understand not just the agreement, but our negotiating posture as a country, they
44:38will realize this is an excellent thing for the American people.
44:41But that's part of our job. We've got to tell the story about what this means for Americans, how it's
44:45going to make all of us safer and more prosperous.
44:47That's why I'm here talking to everybody, and we're going to keep on telling that story in the days and
44:52weeks to come.
44:53Go ahead.
44:54The Press, thank you, sir. Jordan Conradsen with the Gateway Pundit. I want to talk back to the Lebanon component
44:59of Israel.
45:01There's a report in Axios that Netanyahu is fuming over this. He doesn't, Israel doesn't feel bound to the MOU
45:08as it relates to Lebanon.
45:09If, as you mentioned, your frustration with Israel is real striking in Beirut, hitting apartment buildings.
45:16If that continues, could it torpedo the deal? And what would the U.S.'s response be to a broader war
45:22in Lebanon involving Israel and Hezbollah?
45:25Yeah, well, I don't want to get into hypotheticals that could torpedo the deal, because I think the President's expectation
45:30is that all of our friends,
45:32the Israelis, the Arabs in the region, we're going to work together and actually see this deal to completion.
45:37Now, I saw the Axios report, you know, that Netanyahu is fuming. That's not reflective of the conversations that I've
45:45had with him,
45:45but maybe he's saying something to somebody else that he's not saying to me.
45:48What I will say, and this does bother me, is that you've seen people within Beirut's cabinet who have come
45:54out and attacked the deal
45:56and in some ways very personally attacked the President of the United States.
46:00And I guess my message to them would be twofold. Number one, Donald J. Trump is the only head of
46:07state in the entire world
46:09who is sympathetic to the nation of Israel at this moment in time.
46:14And he happens to be the head of state of the world's superpower.
46:17If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking the only powerful ally that
46:24I have anywhere left in the entire world.
46:26And the second message I would give to some of those cabinet members, Bibi, to his credit, has not gone
46:32down this path,
46:32but to some of these cabinet members in Israel who are attacking the President of the United States,
46:36the other thing that I would say is that over the last three months,
46:40two-thirds of the defensive weapons that have protected your homeland have been built by American hands
46:47and paid for by American tax dollars.
46:50The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump.
46:54And anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest problem is the President of the United States
46:58needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation that country is in.
47:04Thank you all.
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