Transcripts For CSPAN2 State Department Briefing On Iran 202

Transcripts For CSPAN2 State Department Briefing On Iran 20240713

Addressing the atrocities of the regime is committed against its own people. November 16, protests are spreading throughout the country and the number of demonstrators blocked the road. The state department received videos of what happened next. Many of the protesters flooded to the nearby marshlands to escape. They tracked him down and surrounded them with machine guns mounted on trucks. They then sprayed the protesters with bullets. Between the rounds, screams can be heard. In this one incident alone by the regime murdered as many as 100 iranians and possibly more. The regime looted bodies into trucks. We do not get to know where they went that we are learning more and more about how the Iranian Regime treats its own people. We have seen reports of many hundreds more killed in and around tehran and it appears it they could have murdered over a thousand since the protests began. We cannot be certain because it blocks information. Among those murdered or at least a dozen children including 13 and 14yearolds. We have received reports from family members who tried to recover the bodies. The authorities demanded the familys first pay the cost of the bullets they used to. In many cases they wouldnt hand over into th until the family pd not to hold funerals. Many have been wounded and at least 7,000 protesters have been detained in irans prisons. Many have been sent to two prisons. The great tehran penitentiary and a guard shot prison. Today the secretary determines d that the entities meet the criteria for Human Rights Violations set up at the state department of submitting the names of these entities. The great penitentiary is known for its inhumane conditions that consist of unsanitary quarters, rodent infestations come insufficient food, water and medical care. Protesters have been subject to abuse and mistreatment during interrogations. Arbitrary beatings and rape. Guard shot prison is the largest womens prison and also holds many members of religious minority communities. It also is known for unbearable conditions including regular assaults and inappropriate behavior of Prison Guards towards women. Chronic lack of water, unsanitary Living Spaces and an environment that enables rape and murder. The United States calls for the Immediate Release of all protesters detained in prison as well as those currently held by the regime. Now is the time for all nations to stand with the iranian people. Diplomatically isolate the regime and sanction those officials responsible for murdering innocent iranians. There has been overwhelming support for the iranian people by the american people. Its clear there is a bipartisan consensus that the treatment of the iranian people is a poor unacceptable. We are unified here in the International Community likewise should be unified in support of the people. These protests have made clear what the secretary and i have been saying for quite some time. The iranian people want the regime to focus on investing in people, not proxy is. They are sick of the regime squandering its fall from the warfare which leads only to economic pressure and diplomatic isolation. They were calling for an end to the sectarian adventurism. November 25. In the International Waters off the coast we interdicted a significant port of weapons and missile parts of origin. As you can see from the images behind me, it includes sophisticated weapons, sophisticated components of antiship cruise missiles, land attack cruise missiles, air defense missiles and antitank missiles. The vessel reportedly was heading to yemen to deliver the weapons. The components comprised the most sophisticated weapons seized by the u. S. Navy to date during the conflict. I want to congratulate the armed forces and the coast guard for this important introduction. The discovery is yet more proof of the efforts to inflame conflicts in the region by proliferating Deadly Weapons to its proxies. Its also further evidence of how iran violates the un arms embargo which has been in place for more than a decade. We should recall that they proposed a cessation of missile and air attacks with saudi arabia just days after they struck the Oil Installations on september 14. The deescalation proposal which the saudis or responding to shows that they do not speak for them, nor have the best interest of the people at heart. Iran is trying to prolong the civil war to project power. Iran should follow the call of its own people and end its involvement in yemen. The people have suffered far too long, and iran has no legitimate interest in yemen. Also relating to yemen, im announcing today departments reward for Justice Program is offering a 15 million for information on the financial activities, networks and associates. A yemen based highranking commander of the ir gc force. This is a part of the rewards for Justice Program for information leading to the disruption. He planned multiple assassinations of Coalition Forces in iraq, provided weapons and explosives to violent shia extremist groups and planned a january 20, 2007 attack in karbala that killed five soldiers and wounded three others. In 2011, he founded and directed a plot to assassinate the ambassador to the United States. This would have been carried out in a restaurant in georgetown. He also aimed to carry out followon attacks in the United States and elsewhere. Had this to succeed as man succs 200 innocent civilians in the United States could have been killed, given the track record of trick o trigger resume and destabilization in iraq we remain concerned by his presence in yemen and the potential role in providing advanced weaponry of the kind that we have interdicted. Iranian missiles and explosives boats have been used. It otherwise wreaks havoc in the region. This designation together with the recent introduction in yemen underscores our commitment to deny the means to run an expansionist foreign policy. We call on the International Community to join us in Holding Iran Accountable both against the nations of the world and against the iranian people. I want to close on one observation about the protest. The regime keeps losing major constituencies in its base. First, the students unattended middle class and merchants, then the working class and the clergy that criticize the regime. Now in the latest protests, nine seminaries were burned. The only sport left for the regime is a handful of clerics whom the iranian people despise for having opposed for years of brutality on them. The regime now maintains its grip on power through brute force. We can take a few questions. On the incident that you mentioned at the very top, was this a video sent to you after the secretary made his appeal . Over 32,000 have submitted. We are going through all of it but that is what we have received is more than 32,000. More than a thousand. That is quite a lot higher. Its the collection of crowd sourcing intelligence that reports from the groups that have been publishing the default. As the regime has restored the internet, we have more videos and information leaking from the country so we know for certain is many hundreds and if you remember in the 2009 revolution which i think lasted for ten, you have if memory serves 72 people who were killed and we are now at the many hundreds of over a thousand. The protests in a hundred cities and we saw how the regime responded. The leader referred to his own people as thugs and this is a brutal crackdown so as more information comes in, we will continue to update you on the numbers but that is what we have now. In the United States or petition the figures and what are you doing to support them here if this happens . The regime has a welldocumented history of murdering and harassing journalists. They are harassing their families and those connection to family and iran is a tradition of the regime they threaten the people that are still in iran so they have been condemning the regime. When you look at the constitution of iran, it guarantees basic freedoms, freedom of assembly, freedom of the press, freedom of speech and the regime is not only not protecting them but they are violating them. What was your first question but im going to leave it as ive said. One of the things i will point out iran is on a tough spot and when they shut down the regime, we live in an e. Ecommerce economy and you were shutting down your economy as well. We can only do this trick for so long. There was Enormous Economic consequences and they are already struggling economically. Thats why they are having to raise the price of gas and two ration. We worked to get tools into the hands of the people that would allow them to communicate with each other in spite of regime after to shut it down if we do know tens of thousands of used these tools that we have helped to facilitate communications. After every protest, we go through and do an inventory of Lessons Learned so we can be more responsive to the people. Can you give us your assessment of who is responsible for organizing the protest in 100 different cities, how organized is the pricing regionally what is the exiled in cri organization with regards to their influence over the protest with their connectivity to demonstrators in various cities . Since the green revolution in 09 decided that its best tactic it can use for organizing is to shear off the briefest of the protesters, arrest them and kill them. It is not unlikely that they killed him in jail and this is trying to promote wildlife whether it is known for its leader unrest and squandering the wealth on foreign adventures and follows any organized. The regime has faced in the 40 years. This is ais it an uprising thatt of wider and chaotic across society . I dont have a comment on whether there is a specific group doing this, but the fact that you solve a protests across so many different cities and i would also point out that this sort of a regular canard that i hear that the sanctions were going to unify the iranian people and they are going to rally around the regime hasnt happened. Theres a corrupt religious mafia that has been arresting people for 40 years. As the u. S. Seen the video that has been submitted by the european members of the un secretarygeneral of a flight test of those capable of delivering a weapon and what is the assessment of that and did you have any reactions . As best i can tell from the letter, they condemn the violations and they were consistent with the obligations under the resolution to 31. They said that iran is continuing its activities related to the Ballistic Missiles so we already have a response in the Iranian Regime that it will continue with its Ballistic Missiles and its space launch vehicles. One of the many deficiencies of the Iran Nuclear Deal is that it ended the prohibition on the Ballistic Missile testing. That is one of the concessions that was made that was a mistake. We are trying to restore that among other things the standard of no enrichment. We need to renew a un arms embargo that expires in about ten months into the van and 22 others that are also going to be lifted under the deal. I think we have seen an expansion of the Ballistic Missile proliferation and missile testing during the life of the deal and we are trying to reverse those games. We are trying to reverse those that iran has made on its Missile Program and its regional aggression over the last many years. [inaudible] a hearing examining a government report poor Living Conditions for Service Members and military personnel. Companies that provide Privatized Housing on military bases testified about the conditions that range from toxic mold and exposure to th the rods and test issues. By the House Armed Services subcommittee this is an hour and a half. My colleague is definitely tied up with voting in the Natural Resource committee. He will be along shortly to. Before we get startedi i was request unanimous consent that a member of the full committee be allowed to

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