00:00Claimed that Iran doesn't control the strait and you said that there was a quote
00:03powerful red, white, and blue dome over the strait.
00:07If that was true, how did Iran shrink ship traffic in the strait to a trickle again last week?
00:14Like most Americans, I've had a lot of trouble following this administration's contradictory statements about the war.
00:20On April 8th, you said, and I quote,
00:23their missile program is functionally destroyed, launchers, production facilities, and existing stockpiles depleted and decimated and almost completely ineffective.
00:33Mr. Secretary, Iran has been firing at U.S. military bases in the region and ships for the last week.
00:41How is it possible if their capabilities were, quote,
00:44functionally destroyed three months earlier, as she claimed, for them to be doing this now?
00:50Well, Senator, Iran is at the weakest point militarily it has ever been in, in the past decade.
00:55Certainly, maybe in 47 years, as they've gathered effectively a terror army.
01:00And that terror army was built to try to create conventional capabilities to defend against a pursuit of nuclear weapons,
01:06which meant thousands of ballistics missiles, many of which we have destroyed,
01:11others of which they have put inside facilities and hidden in underground facilities.
01:14That's what terror regimes would do.
01:16So I acknowledge they still have capabilities, no doubt.
01:18But the amount of damage that we've done to them over the course of these series of operations has put
01:25them in the worst place they've ever been.
01:26Okay, well, let me move on.
01:28On May 5th, you claimed that Iran doesn't control the strait, and you said that there was a, quote,
01:33powerful red, white, and blue dome over the strait.
01:36If that was true, how did Iran shrink ship traffic in the strait to a trickle again last week?
01:43We pushed almost, I believe, between 400 and 500 million bearers of oil under the nose of Iran over the
01:49course of Project Freedom,
01:50which went underground, which I acknowledged after we did so covertly,
01:54because it was more effective to do so quietly than to do so publicly.
01:58So we've been in control of moving traffic through there for quite some time.
02:02Will they retain the ability to recklessly shoot at commercial shipping?
02:04And that's what happened.
02:05We had a ceasefire, and then they shot at commercial shipping.
02:08Well, you also said at that same press conference, and I'm going to quote you.
02:14You urged Iran to, quote, let innocent ships pass freely.
02:18These international waters belong to all nations, not to Iran to tax, toll, or control.
02:23Last week, President Trump said the U.S. would charge a 20% toll to each ship to pass through
02:28the state.
02:29So based on your opposition to tolls, did you talk to the president out of that idea, or did someone
02:35else?
02:38Iran's not charging tolls, and they're shooting at ships right now.
02:41But Trump said that he wanted to charge a 20% toll.
02:46We have a blockade right now of all Iranian ships and Iranian ports, and it's effective.
02:51My time is out.
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