Vice President JD Vance holds White House press briefing — FOX 10 Phoenix

[0:57] everybody. Nothing to talk about. Slow news day here in Washington, D.C. So let me just say a [1:03] couple of things off the bat. First of all, I think the President's peace plan in Iran is already [1:08] bearing real fruits for the American people. Last night, 12.5 million barrels of oil went through [1:14] the Strait of Hormuz. That is a high since the beginning of the conflict. Oil prices are down [1:19] nearly at their level from the pre-war conflict. Gas prices dropped below $4 a gallon today for the [1:25] first time since the conflict. And importantly, they're going to keep falling further given how [1:29] low price – low oil prices are. On the military side, the Iranians for the second night in a row [1:36] did not shoot at any ships in the Strait of Hormuz. So far, they are honoring their end of the [1:40] commitment. And on the blockade, CENTCOM has allowed north of a dozen ships to go through [1:45] our naval blockade, and so we're also honoring our end of the early part of the agreement. [1:50] On the military side, a couple of things that are still true and will be true, [1:54] whether the Iranians comply with the rest of the deal or not. Number one, their nuclear [1:58] program has been completely destroyed. Their capacity for enrichment, the facilities at [2:02] which they were using to develop enrichment and develop a potential nuclear weapon – those [2:07] facilities are still destroyed. Their conventional military is still destroyed. Their capacity [2:12] to threaten their neighbors is still largely gone. And now we see whether they are willing [2:17] to comply with the next step of the President's peace plan. As you all know, the part of the peace [2:24] plan, the part of this MOU that I think have been most misrepresented by certain parts of [2:28] the media is the idea that the Iranians get all these benefits. You will hear things about [2:32] $300 billion or $24 billion or this or that number of money or amount of money. And the [2:37] simple fact is that the only way the Iranians get any of those resources – not a single [2:42] penny, by the way, from the United States of America under any circumstances – but the [2:46] only way that they would ever get any benefit of the bargain is if they comply fully and change [2:52] their behavior. And so you really have a win-win situation for the United States of America. [2:57] If the Iranians don't change their behavior, their military and their nuclear program is [3:02] still destroyed. If they do change their behavior, then they are going to have a transformative [3:08] relationship with the Middle East, and the Middle East will have a transformative relationship [3:12] with the people of Iran. That's a win for the American people and for the President of the United States, [3:17] regardless of which option the Iranians ultimately choose. We obviously want them [3:21] to choose the right option. The interesting thing about their system – and I think it's important [3:25] for the American people to appreciate this point in particular – is that there are real divisions [3:31] within their country about how exactly to proceed. And what we've seen over the last couple of months [3:37] is that the pragmatists within the Iranian system, the people who really do want to transform their [3:41] relationship with the Middle East and with the world, those people are winning the argument. [3:47] The United States wants those people to win the argument. The United States wants to have [3:51] a better relationship. But in order for that to happen, the Iranians have to perform. And if they [3:56] don't perform, as we've said before, they don't get any of the benefits of the bargain. So what I'd ask all [4:02] of you is just to report honestly that the United States isn't giving up a cent of money to Iran, [4:08] and even the economic benefits – the sanctions relief and so forth – that comes along with this [4:12] bargain only happens if the Iranians perform. So with that, I want to say thanks to all of you. [4:19] It's good to be with you this morning. And I'll kick it over to questions. Let's start right over here [4:23] to the right. Thank you, Mr. Vice President. I wanted to ask a follow-up on something you just [4:27] mentioned. You talked about the possibility of the current Iranian leadership fundamentally changing [4:32] their behavior. Do you think that the current Iranian leadership recognizes the leverage that the U.S. [4:38] holds over itself economically and militarily enough to actually go forth with fundamentally [4:43] changing their behavior over the long term and going about things differently? [4:47] So I certainly think they recognize the leverage that the United States has over them. We've seen [4:51] that in a number of our conversations. We've seen that just in their behavior over the last couple [4:55] of days. They certainly recognize that the United States has great leverage. Will that ultimately lead [4:59] to a change in behavior? I don't know. I've seen skeptics of the deal. People say, [5:04] the Iranians will never change their behavior. Well, maybe that's true. And if so, [5:08] they don't get any of the benefits of the bargain. But isn't it worth trying? Isn't it worth seeing [5:13] whether this incredibly weakened position that the President of the United States has put the [5:18] Iranians under, whether that motivates them to change their behavior, not just vis-a-vis the West, [5:23] but vis-a-vis the Middle East? And one of the interesting things about this is, you know, [5:28] the technical details of this we can, of course, get into. There are any – going to be any number [5:33] of opinions about the negotiation, about where it's ultimately going to go. But I tend to think [5:37] that you should trust the people who know the Iranians the best and who have the most to lose. [5:42] What are the Gulf Arab states saying about this deal? What are they saying about this deal compared [5:48] to the JCPOA in 2015? This is the Obama nuclear deal. Well, back then, they hated that deal. [5:54] They felt like it empowered the Iranians to be bad actors across the region. And, [5:58] of course, that's exactly what happened. They were right about that. [6:01] What are they saying about the President's peace deal? They're saying this is an amazingly [6:06] transformative thing for the region, because either way, we and the broader region win. [6:12] Iran is weakened. Their nuclear program destroyed. Their economy in desperate straits. And if they change [6:18] their behavior, big things are going to happen for Iran and for the world. If they don't, [6:23] no skin off our backs. Either way, we win. And that's the way the President has set up this deal [6:28] and this negotiation. [6:29] I would say the 60-day period officially started today. It was signed late. And it may have even [6:44] been signed technically because of the time shift. I think it signed technically today, Iran time. [6:50] So, yes, the deal started yesterday. We're going to start the 60-day clock today. [6:58] Can you help us understand President Trump's shift on his stance for Iran's ballistic missile [7:04] program? Initially, it was a key objective to dismantle it. Yesterday, he said it would only be [7:10] fair if they had some if the countries around Iran also had some. So when and why did that change? [7:17] And will the final agreement have any restrictions on these missiles? [7:20] Mr. So we destroyed a substantial number of their ballistic missiles and their [7:25] excuse me, ballistic missile launchers themselves. It's not just the bullets, but it's the actual gun. [7:29] And that's what we were extremely effective at in destroying during the last three months of the [7:33] campaign. All the President said yesterday is that, of course, region countries don't give up the [7:39] right of self-defense. Israel doesn't give up the right of self-defense if Hezbollah fires rockets or drones [7:45] at Israel. The Iranians don't give up the right of self-defense in their country. But we do expect [7:51] that as part of the final deal they are not going to be able to build the kind of missiles that can [7:56] broadly threaten the entire world. And that's what the President of the United States said yesterday. [8:00] And look, I mean, it's very simple. You can't tell a country whether Israel or Iran they're not [8:05] allowed to have any self-defense. That's not what the President has asked. That's not what the President [8:09] has requested. But as part of the final deal, what we want to see is Iran not funding regional [8:15] instability, funding regional terrorism, and, of course, try to rebuild their nuclear weapons [8:19] program. That's the main thing. The nuclear weapons program is destroyed. It is gone. [8:25] If the Iranians decided tomorrow to build a nuclear weapon, they simply don't have the capacity in order [8:30] to do that. What we're trying to ensure is they don't rebuild that capacity not just a year from now, [8:35] two years from now, but many, many years from now, so that our children never have to worry [8:39] about a state sponsor of terrorism having a nuclear weapon. [8:43] The Press, thank you, Mr. Vice President. You were just saying that you're hoping this deal [8:48] would prevent Iran in the future from getting a nuclear weapon. But from what's been put out [8:53] there of the MOU, I'm curious, how does the MOU reflect that in the future Iran will not, [8:59] in fact, get a nuclear weapon? What's stopping them from down the road, to your point, rebuilding [9:04] and restarting from where we were pre the war? [9:07] Well, number one, they would have to get a lot of money in order to rebuild the nuclear program. [9:10] You're talking about billions and billions of nuclear infrastructure that the United States [9:14] destroyed. In order for them to rebuild that program, they would have to get a lot of money. [9:18] And we have them in an economic chokehold right now that we're not going to release [9:21] until they fundamentally change their behavior. What would that look like? [9:24] That would mean a real inspections regime. That would mean a real enforcement regime. As the MOU [9:29] contemplates, that would mean the destruction of their enriched stockpile. All of these things are the [9:34] sorts of steps you're going to take if you're serious about ending your nuclear weapons program. [9:38] And that, again, is why I go back to this fundamental trade that's built into the deal. [9:43] They need money to do anything. Their economy is in absolute dire straits. But in order for them [9:50] to get any integration into the world economy, they're going to have to show us and verify for us [9:55] that they are changing their behavior. And that's why the deal is set up in the way that it is. Go ahead. [10:00] Mr. President, President Trump said yesterday that he was going to blame you if the talks of the [10:05] round go sideways. Are you worried that he's going to make you the fool guy? [10:09] Mr. No, not at all. I mean, I think the President was joking, as he often does. But no, [10:14] I think, look, the entire team has worked very well on this. And we've got this thing to a very good [10:18] place for the American people. Now, I have seen some progressive criticisms of me personally saying, [10:23] what experience does the Vice President of the United States have with hostile, high-stakes [10:29] negotiations? And I would point those progressive critics to the fact that just two days ago, [10:34] I spent over an hour on The View. So I actually have great experience in very hostile negotiations. [10:40] And I've used that. I mean, look, Joy Behar is way tougher than the Iranians. And she and I are [10:45] best friends now. So we're going to get to a good place here. We're going to get to a good place. [10:49] We're already at a good place. It's just a question of whether we can really get the icing on the top [10:53] of fundamentally transforming Iran's relationship with the world. Go ahead. [10:57] A couple of just timing questions. How soon, as the MOU lays out, can Iran start selling any of [11:04] its oil that has sort of been impounded, right, with the blockade? And two, can you sort of explain [11:11] the Lebanon component to the MOU and how that front works and the enforceability of it? [11:17] Yeah. So the Lebanon component, this is about regional peace, right? This is about [11:21] regional peace. And what that means is we expect Hezbollah is not going to be firing rockets and [11:26] firing drones at the Israelis. And we also expect that the Israelis are not going to be going wild [11:30] in Lebanon, right? Both sides have to honor their end of the deal. Now, as you guys know, sometimes [11:35] these ceasefires are a little messy. The President of the United States said this a couple of weeks ago, [11:40] that a ceasefire in that region of the world just means they're shooting a little bit less at each [11:44] other than they were before. What you've seen is radical progress in Lebanon, less shooting, [11:50] less firing, but you're still going to have these little flare-ups from time to time. And that's just [11:54] the sort of thing that we're going to have to manage through the diplomatic process. Secretary Rubio has [11:58] been sort of the person on point. It's actually worked out extraordinarily well because we do have [12:04] substantially less shooting, but it's going to be something we have to manage. And eventually what we [12:08] want to see is the Lebanese government, the elected representatives of the people of Lebanon who are [12:13] able to police southern Lebanon so that Hezbollah has not taken over the country, the Israelis are not [12:18] threatened, and then consequently the Israelis are not attacking southern Lebanon or Beirut either. [12:24] That's the plan there. You asked about the Iranian oil. Look, one of the interesting things that you've [12:29] seen is that the Iranians have been completely unable to sell oil, not because of sanctions, [12:36] but because of the blockade. Fundamentally, the thing that we have done here, the original, [12:41] you know, what we give, what they give, is that we said we're going to lift the blockade, [12:45] we're going to allow you to sell some of your oil, and they're going to open the Strait of Hormuz. [12:49] We see that process starting to work already. It's going to take a little time before it picks [12:53] up fully, but that's where we are today. The MOU just on the Strait, the MOU guarantees [13:00] these 60 days of toll-free passage, but after that it has of course led to a regional dialogue [13:05] with Amman and Iran deciding the future governance of the Strait. A senior U.S. official told us [13:09] yesterday that they expect Iran to push aggressively on this, but also that Gulf states won't allow any [13:14] kind of tolls. How strenuously will the U.S. fight to keep tolls out of the Strait and keep any fees [13:20] away from the future strait and commercial traffic? And are you going to leave it to the [13:24] Gulf states to kind of fight this battle? Well, first of all, we believe international [13:27] waterways should be free of tolls, and that's been our position. That's what you see, of course, [13:31] in the 60 days of the MOU. And when you say it leaves it open, it doesn't really leave it open, [13:36] except in the sense that, of course, the final negotiation is going to set the terms of what [13:41] comes afterwards, right? You said, I think that it's the Omanis and the Iranians, but it's actually [13:48] the MOU contemplates that the Omanis, the Iranians, and the Gulf Coast coalition together will figure [13:54] out a proper security framework for the Straits in the future. And what I mean by that is that we [13:58] don't ever want this to happen again, right? That's not about tolling. That's about ensuring that the [14:03] Straits are never used as a choke point for the global economy ever again. It's frankly not what [14:08] the Iranians want, it's not what the Omanis want, it's not what the GCC wants either. So what we're [14:13] going to do, of course, working with our allies in the region, is to ensure that that is reflected in the [14:17] final deal. And if that's not reflected in the final deal, there's not going to be a final deal. [14:22] And that is – I keep coming back to this fundamental structural point of this negotiation, [14:26] which is that we have all the cards. If the Iranians want the benefits of the bargain, [14:31] they have to give us the things that are necessary to get those benefits. [14:34] Go ahead. [14:36] Mr. Vice President. [14:39] We'll do – okay. [14:40] Both of you guys. There's one in the white and then one in orange, I think. [14:44] And what about the pink? [14:45] I'm sorry? Okay. Maybe I'm – maybe I'm colorblind. [14:50] It looks more orange to me. I don't want to have a debate about that. [14:53] Orange, pinkish, you go first. And then in front of you, you can go second. [14:57] President, thank you, Mr. President. [14:59] The Press, sanctions, especially from the Treasury Department. [15:08] How does that square with the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act? [15:12] And are you planning on briefing Congress on this portion? [15:15] Mr. Yeah, so I talked to James Braid, our head of OLA. [15:18] We do plan to brief Congress very soon. [15:19] I believe that they got the formal copy of the signed document this morning. [15:23] And if not, they're going to get it at some point later today. [15:26] We are planning a briefing. I believe right now the House is out of session. [15:29] The Senate is in session, though maybe I've reversed that. [15:32] But we're going to ensure that the team briefs Congress and, of course, answers their questions. [15:37] We've been doing that informally, of course, talking to a number of people in Congress just over the [15:41] last week. We'll keep on doing that and we'll have a formal briefing. [15:44] I won't say exactly when that will be because it depends a little bit about session schedule. [15:49] Your point about the sanctions is, I'll go back to what I said earlier, which is really [15:53] the choke point on Iranian oil was never the sanctions. We didn't see that as a major concession [15:58] to the Iranians. Frankly, the Iranians didn't see that as a concession to them because what [16:02] prevented them from selling oil was not the sanctions. They were selling plenty of oil without [16:07] any discount because the sanctions were just fundamentally ineffective at that point. [16:12] What the sanctions did do is move the Iranian financial system to sort of the shadow banking [16:17] system. So by lifting the blockade, that's the significant thing that has changed. And by lifting [16:22] the sanctions, we're actually going to be able to see a little bit where their financial system [16:26] actually sends money and receives money. That's a real benefit to the American people. And that's [16:30] really the only thing that has changed by the change in sanctions. [16:34] The Press from the [16:36] Mr. Sorry, I forgot that part of the question. No, we don't think so. We actually have an [16:40] opinion from the OLC we feel quite confident about. There are certain things that require [16:45] congressional approval. There are certain things that don't require congressional approval. We [16:49] feel quite confident that we can temporarily lift those sanctions without going to Congress [16:53] and seeking their approval on that. Currently, there's been reports coming out of Israel that Iran [16:58] is already funneling oil money to Hezbollah, even before this particular MOU was signed. [17:05] And how exactly is the U.S. looking at this? If we're talking about behavior on part of Iran, [17:14] I mean, October 7th happened. And if there's concern that perhaps Hezbollah could end up doing some sort [17:20] of attack on that scale, then how exactly are we talking about the reaction from the United States, [17:28] if you're talking about perhaps a humongous-scale attack that actually could? Are we waiting for [17:34] that type of attack? I mean, what exactly is a scale here? [17:38] Mr. Sorry, you said what exactly is a scale? [17:42] The Press from the U.S. Well, I mean, like, what type of attack would it take to actually get a [17:47] reaction from the states to say, okay, now we're actually going to start dropping bombs on Iran before [17:54] Well, we don't want any scale of any attack. Any attack, whatever its scale, is unacceptable [18:00] under this agreement. Now, you asked the question saying that oil money was flowing to Hezbollah [18:06] before the MOU was signed. And it's one of the reasons why we are actually engaged in this process [18:11] is to ensure that no money is flowing to Hezbollah. So it's interesting where people will say that the [18:17] MOU is bad because the MOU produces consequences that were actually happening well before the MOU was [18:24] signed. That's not a reflection on the MOU. That's a reflection of why we need the MOU to ensure [18:30] that we have the regional peace and stability that we need. Now, what I would say to, you know, [18:35] some of the critics of the deal that I've heard that will say, well, Iran is going to get all this [18:40] benefit. I'll repeat what I've said, and I'm probably going to have to repeat it a number of times is [18:44] what is the benefit that the Iranians get that they didn't have before? And the answer is nothing. [18:52] They don't get anything unless they change their behavior. If they change their behavior, [18:56] that is a thing to celebrate. That's going to transform the Middle East for a generation. [19:00] If they don't change their behavior, they don't get the benefit of the bargain. [19:04] And I think I got to be honest, I think fundamentally, fundamentally, this idea that it's a [19:10] misrepresentation of the MOU, this idea that the Iranians get all these benefits before the deal is [19:17] actually consummated. The idea that they get benefits before they change their behavior [19:23] is fundamentally a talking point that is issued by people who want the conflict to continue [19:28] indefinitely, despite the fact that that's not good for the American people and it's not good for [19:32] the region. Way in the back. All the way back in the red. Thank you so much, Mr. Vice President. [19:40] Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Right here, you mean? Are you [19:43] sorry? We'll do. Okay, sorry. Thank you. I'm wearing bright red. [19:46] So many people are wearing red. You can go first. Kara, right? [19:49] Thank you, Kara. Thank you. Okay, and then next, after that. [19:50] Okay, great. Could you highlight the major differences between this deal [19:55] and President Obama's deal in 2015 and why the administration believes that this deal is superior? [20:00] And second, Mr. Vice President, President Trump has been vocal lately about [20:04] his disapproval for Bibi Netanyahu's attacks on Lebanon. Has the administration spoken to Bibi [20:10] Netanyahu directly about the president's concerns recently and what is the feedback from Israel? [20:16] Yeah, so we speak to Bibi or speak to somebody in the Israeli government just as we speak to the [20:21] Gulf Coast coalition, our regional partners pretty much every day, at least at some high level of our [20:26] government. Look, the president's been very clear. He does not withdraw from Israel. No one could [20:31] withdraw from another country the right of self-defense. Israel has the right to defend itself. [20:36] But fundamentally, the Israelis, just like everybody else, have to respect this peace process [20:41] that is fundamentally good for them and good for the entire region. What the president gets [20:46] grown frustrated sometimes is that we seem to be right on the cusp of a major breakthrough in the [20:50] agreement, and then all of a sudden there's a major explosion that goes off in a civilian population [20:55] center in Beirut, and a lot of people who have nothing to do with Hezbollah lose their lives. [20:59] That's not acceptable. That's the sort of thing that we've asked for closer coordination so that [21:03] we ensure it doesn't happen. And our message to the Israelis, just as our message to everybody else, [21:07] is fundamentally we want this peace process to be good for you. We do not want Hezbollah attacking [21:13] Israel. But in order to ensure that that happens, we have got to actually build the kind of regional [21:19] framework that can cut off the money to Hezbollah, cut off Iranian support for Hezbollah, and also ensure [21:25] that Lebanon's territorial sovereignty is respected by all parties. And the difference between the two [21:32] agreements. So first of all, the two big differences are not even in the substance of the deal itself, [21:39] but something I said earlier are, number one, the Gulf Coast Coalition loves this deal because they [21:46] think that it makes Iran weaker. They hated the Obama deal because they thought that it made Iran stronger. [21:51] They know more about this, and they have more to lose than anybody, including the United States of [21:55] America. So I trust their judgment. The second thing is where the deal came from. You have to remember, [22:02] in 2015, Iran had built a sophisticated nuclear weapons program with a nuclear weapons stockpile. [22:08] So the perspective that we came at as the United States was, you already have a really nice nuclear [22:13] program. We're going to bribe you with American money in order to stop it. Our perspective, [22:18] and where we're coming at it is, we already destroyed your nuclear program. And so if you [22:24] promise and show verifiable pathways to not rebuild it, then we're willing to give you some sanctions [22:32] relief and things like that. So it's a fundamentally different perspective. Now, there are all these [22:35] substantive differences as well. The Obama nuclear deal allowed enrichment. Ours will not. The Obama deal [22:41] allowed the accumulation of stockpiled weapons-grade material. Ours is actually leading to the destruction [22:47] of that stockpile of enriched material. So there are many differences. The Obama deal gave them over [22:51] a billion dollars of American money. This deal gives them zero dollars of American money. So a lot [22:58] of substantive differences. But I think the most important differences are where we're coming at it, [23:02] from a position of strength, and the fact that our Gulf Coast partners love this deal. [23:06] The President has said that if Iran doesn't behave themselves, we're going to resume military action. [23:18] So what is the red line for what Iran can do before they cross that red line and we do resume military [23:24] action? Well, it's just it's going to be a holistic approach where we look at their behavior. Are they [23:29] funding terrorism? Are they leading to attacks of other people? Are they trying to get centrifuges to [23:34] redevelop their nuclear weapons program? There are all these questions that we're going to ask about [23:38] whether they've actually changed their behavior. Do they allow the inspectors in, as they have [23:42] promised that they would do? Or do they refuse to allow those inspectors in? A whole host of things [23:47] we're going to see. We're working towards a very successful resolution of this process. But again, [23:51] it takes two to tango. And what the President is just saying is that we maintain economic, diplomatic, [23:57] and military leverage that nobody else in the world has. So if the Iranians want to change, [24:02] great. We're going to help them. If they don't change, we still got all the cards. [24:07] Thank you. Yeah. Oh, sorry. In the in the blue jacket. [24:11] This one right here. This one right here, Mr. President. [24:14] That's a navy jacket. Should we have should we have a debate about the difference between blue [24:19] and navy? Not that guy, because you give a speech whenever you ask a question. I'm going to give her [24:23] an opportunity. Hold on. Guys, you're speaking over the person who's asking the question. [24:32] Seriously about the gas prices. You touted the fact that the President has gone on through social [24:38] touting this. But when should they expect to see gas reach that three dollar threshold? [24:44] Well, I'm not an economist, and I think even the economists would get this wrong. But the fact that [24:48] you've seen gas come down about 65 cents a gallon on the national average, and the fact that you see [24:52] oil prices that are basically close to where they were at the very beginning of the conflict, [24:59] I think you're going to see a substantial reduction in gas prices. I'm not going to predict the exact [25:03] price. If I was able to do that, I might be in a different business than politics. [25:06] But we do think you're going to see significant relief at the pump on top of what we've already seen. [25:11] The Press, Mr. President, you keep saying that Iran will only reap economic rewards if they comply [25:18] and change their behavior. But under this deal, they are being allowed now to sell their oil freely. [25:23] Again, how is that not a financial benefit? And they're being allowed to do that without [25:27] making any new concrete nuclear commitments. So can you explain how is that not lopsided? [25:32] Well, first of all, they've made very concrete nuclear commitments. They have committed [25:35] to the destruction of the highly enriched stockpile that they have in their possession. [25:40] But number two, all we've done is lift the blockade and the Straits of Fort. We basically [25:44] returned it to where it was before the conflict. The blockade is off. We put that in after the [25:49] conflict started. The Straits are now open. That's not a new benefit to the Iranians. They were selling oil [25:54] for many, many years, well before we ever put the blockade. We opposed that blockade. [26:00] They stopped selling oil. And now we've lifted the blockade in order to promote the free [26:04] flow of energy across the world. Go ahead. [26:07] The Press, Mr. President, thank you. [26:08] The Press, a U.S. official described having secured some of these quote-unquote [26:11] gentlemen's agreements with Iran on certain aspects of the negotiation. [26:15] Mr. Sure. [26:15] The Press, when it comes to highly enriched uranium, can you walk us through what's been secured, [26:19] even in these kind of gentlemen's agreements, on how exactly they're going to get rid of the stockpile? [26:24] Are there agreements on low-grade enrichment? How long is the moratorium on enriching uranium for Iran? [26:31] And are any of these gentlemen's agreements written down anywhere? [26:35] MR. So some of them are written down, but fundamentally, whether they're written [26:38] down or spoken, this is why we structured the deal that we did, because we don't trust words. [26:42] We trust action. And we trust conduct. And so we're going to reward conduct, [26:46] and we're not going to reward any words, whether they're written on a sheet of paper or not. [26:50] There's a lot of discussion, the MOU, the gentleman's agreements, the final deal. [26:55] Words don't matter, ladies and gentlemen. We're about verification. [26:58] And so what we're going to do is to say, if they do the things that they have promised to do, [27:02] they have promised not to enrich. They have promised that they would allow inspectors in [27:07] to destroy that highly enriched stockpile. And then, of course, it's not usable anymore. [27:11] You take it somewhere else. They promised a number of things. And that's why the deal [27:14] contemplates a number of benefits if they do those things. But it doesn't do anything [27:20] if they don't actually meet those promises. [27:22] So just to follow up on that, sir, if they don't follow through with their commitment, [27:28] will the U.S. go back to imposing sanctions and the blockade? Or does Iran get to keep [27:33] some of the concessions that it has already secured? [27:35] Well, first of all, the sanctions are still on with the exception of the oil sanctions, [27:40] which I talked about were no longer effective. The purpose of the oil sanctions is to drive down [27:45] how much Iran is charging for a price for a barrel of oil. Those sanctions had stopped being effective. [27:51] The blockade is what's effective. And again, that's the thing that has changed in accordance [27:56] with them opening the Strait of Hormuz. No sanctions will come off unless they perform [28:00] the benefit of the bargain. And every sanction will come back on. Let me look like hypothetically. [28:05] Let's say two years down the road, they've done what we need to see on the nuclear program, [28:10] and we release the sanctions as the deal contemplates. Then they decide they're going [28:14] to start rebuilding the nuclear program. Then, of course, those sanctions are going to come back [28:17] on. And that's why it's really kind of like a dial. As they dial up their good behavior, [28:22] we can dial up the economic relief. If they dial down their good behavior, we can turn it off. [28:26] It's the good thing about having the leverage, and it's a good thing about being the United States [28:30] of America, where we just fundamentally have so much influence in the world financial system. [28:34] Go ahead. [28:35] Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Leader Thun said it's unrealistic to get the [28:40] Save America Act passed by attaching it to FISA, which is what the President is looking for. [28:45] Do you believe this is possible? [28:46] Well, why don't we try? Why don't we try and at least force people to vote against it? [28:50] One of the things that sometimes frustrates me about the legislative process is that people will [28:55] go into it saying, this isn't possible, therefore we're not even going to try. Well, let's actually see. [29:01] Let's try it. And if it's not possible, then let the people put their name [29:05] on it. This is also good for the American people. How many American senators know that the American [29:12] people love the Save America Act because they believe in voter ID? But how many of those same [29:16] senators don't want to vote for it because they know that the radical elements within their own [29:21] party would punish them for it? Let people go on the record and actually answer to the American [29:26] people, which is why I think we should do exactly as the President said. [29:29] Thank you very much. [29:37] On Monday, we were told the MOU will be published within 48 hours. The President then said after [29:45] Friday. You, I think, then said by Friday. And then it ended up being read out on a briefing [29:50] call yesterday. We were told the MOU had been signed electronically on Sunday. There was an [29:55] Axis report that it hadn't been. There's going to be a signing ceremony on Friday. And then it signed [30:00] at Versailles yesterday, last night. Is what's going on behind the scenes as chaotic as your public [30:08] messaging? [30:08] MR. Well, I don't think our public messaging has been chaotic. I think dealing with a fractured [30:15] Iranian system where communication isn't great is just sometimes something that we don't fully [30:20] appreciate or we don't fully understand. What really happened here is that we did sign the MOU [30:26] on Sunday. That locked into the terms of the deal. What the Iranians came to us and said is, [30:31] we'd like not to release the text until Friday. In order – we don't – I don't really understand [30:35] that. I wanted to get the text out immediately. But in order to be accommodating to them, we said, [30:39] sure, okay, we'll wait until Friday. And then what happened over Monday, Tuesday, the President was in [30:44] G7. Maybe foreign leaders were talking to the Iranians and encouraging them to do that. We were [30:49] definitely saying to them, we understand your desire not to have the text out until Friday, [30:53] but we live in a democratic system. The American people want to see the text of this deal. [30:58] We would certainly like to get it out as soon as possible. And so they came up with having [31:02] their President sign it, our President sign it, and then just releasing the text as a signed [31:07] document immediately at that point. I do wonder, Rob, just – this is pure conjecture. I'm just [31:13] guessing at this. I wonder if part of it is that they wanted to have a Persian translation, [31:19] a Farsi translation that they felt good about. And then, of course, once they translated into Farsi, [31:23] our State Department has to confirm that the Farsi translation matches the meaning of the English. [31:28] I think that is part of what was going on here. But the text is out there now. We said that we would [31:33] be transparent about it. But the reason why it went back and forth a little bit about when exactly the [31:38] text would be released is just we were trying to show good faith to the Iranians who, for reasons I [31:42] have no idea, cared a lot about how the text itself was rolled out. Blue tie there. [31:48] Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Mr. President. As you know, [31:54] because you were involved in this process, the MOU allows for Iran to sell its oil right away, [32:01] which means that Iran can take in on a monthly basis tens of millions of dollars. Iran's economy was in [32:09] tatters. How is this not essentially giving a lifeline to Iran economically? And what's to [32:16] prevent Iran from using all of that money, all of those millions of dollars, to prop up its proxies in [32:23] the region? Mr. Well, the number one thing is that we actually see where the money moves now. [32:27] Because of what we've done with the financial sanctions, we actually know where the money is [32:32] going to move. And so we have great confidence that we're going to be able to see if they try to fund [32:35] terrorist organizations. We're going to be able to see that. But you said that millions of dollars [32:40] is a lifeline. Right now, the Iranian nation is a nation of 94 million people. Their economy is in [32:47] a free fall. They have sky-high inflation. And fundamentally, about a trillion dollars of damage [32:54] to their industrial base was caused over the last three months. The idea that selling a few million [33:00] dollars worth of barrels of oil is going to fundamentally transform the Iranian economy. [33:07] That's just not true. We thought that it would be good in order to lift the blockade and open the [33:11] Straits of Hormuz to allow the free flow of energy. We felt that it was reasonable that if we're going [33:16] to allow everybody else to sell their energy during this period of negotiation, we would allow everyone [33:21] to sell their energy. That's all we're doing. We can slap everything right back on if the Iranians don't [33:26] make the deal that we expect. Either one. Either one. [33:36] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Guys, how about how about both of you? [33:39] Okay, thank you. Mr. Vice President, so President Trump said we'll finish one, talking about Iran, [33:44] and he said then Cuba is next. Is Cuba next? And also on Colombia, Mr. Vice President, [33:50] he has mentioned Colombia three times this week. Why is it so important [33:53] the election day in Colombia for President Trump? [33:55] You guys have to ask Marco about Cuba. That's not – [33:57] The Press President, please. [34:00] Look, our view – go ahead in a second, but let me just actually ask this guy's question. [34:07] Fundamentally, in Cuba, it is a system that hasn't worked. They can't make any money. Their economy [34:13] is, frankly, probably in worse shape than the Iranian economy. It's 90 miles from our shore, [34:18] so every time that there's a crisis, you end up having desperate refugees or desperate people who can't [34:24] feed their families trying to – into our country. We want the people of Cuban to be happy and [34:28] successful. We're actually talking to the Iranian – or excuse me, the Cuban government right now [34:33] about how they could change their ways to change that. We're going to see what they do. And obviously, [34:37] if they do one thing, we're going to do something. If they make smart decisions, [34:41] we're going to have a much better relationship with that island. Go ahead. [34:44] The Press Preparate, Mr. Vice President, thank you so much. I know that [34:49] you are still not sure if you are going to run for candidate in 2020, but if you do not, [34:55] is there anyone in particular that you would want to see run? [35:00] The President, what's your name? [35:01] The Press Preparate, I want Steven Kapuska to run for president in [35:05] 2020. [35:05] Is here for him – go ahead. [35:06] The Press Preparate – thank you, Vice President. [35:12] Thank you, Vice President. [35:13] Mr. Yeah, quite a minute. [35:14] The Press. [35:15] I've got two questions. [35:16] Could you describe the status of your Switzerland trip? [35:18] Mr. Sure. [35:19] Are you definitely still going? [35:20] What are your plans? [35:21] And also, if we could drill down on frozen funds. [35:24] There's been a lot of focus on oil sanctions, but on frozen funds, [35:28] what's your understanding of how much money is frozen, [35:31] how much of that is in the U.S.? [35:33] And a senior administration official briefed some of us [35:36] reporters earlier this week that there might be small antis, [35:39] is what he said, like small releases of money to build [35:42] trust with the Iranians early on. [35:44] Could you describe that whole situation? [35:46] Mr. So on the frozen funds, the amount of money, [35:49] I honestly don't know. [35:50] I've heard numbers north of $100 billion. [35:52] I've actually heard numbers north of $200 billion. [35:55] Most of it is not in United States accounts. [35:57] Most of it is either in the Gulf or in Europe or somewhere else. [36:00] But I don't know the exact amount of money. [36:02] It's a lot. [36:03] It's one of the reasons why we've had such a successful chokehold [36:06] on the Iranian economy, though not even close to the main reason. [36:11] We're not releasing a single dollar of that money until the Iranians perform. [36:15] And there are a number of ways they could perform. [36:17] For example, let's say they actually take meaningful steps, [36:20] and this could happen very quickly to destroy that stockpile of enriched material, [36:24] then we're going to have a conversation about it. [36:26] But they have to perform. [36:27] I've seen some reports – I don't know where this came from – [36:31] that the Qataris had released billions of dollars in Iranian assets. [36:34] That's just not true. [36:35] It would be impossible for the Qataris to do that without our buy-in [36:39] and certainly without us seeing it. [36:40] So a lot of this reporting is just fundamentally wrong. [36:43] They don't get a dollar of unfrozen assets – their money, not our money – [36:47] but they don't get a dollar of unfrozen assets until they actually perform under the deal. [36:51] You asked about Switzerland. [36:53] Our plan is to go to Switzerland. [36:55] I don't know exactly when. [36:57] The way that we're setting up this technical negotiation is that obviously [37:00] you're going to have the political leadership involved. [37:03] Excuse me. [37:04] We're going to have people on the ground actually driving the technical talks, [37:08] the nuclear talks, how do you destroy this highly enriched uranium, [37:11] all that stuff that you really just have to get into the nitty-gritty on. [37:15] So I plan to go to Switzerland exactly when. [37:18] We thought – we think these technical negotiations are going to start sometime this weekend. [37:23] That's still the plan. [37:24] But that could change because it's not an easy country, Iran, to get out of. [37:28] And so we're trying to figure out exactly when that's going to happen. [37:30] I suspect this weekend, but I'm not sure. [37:37] I may – it just depends on exactly when the Iranians can get there. [37:40] We're trying to figure that out as we speak. [37:42] But again, I suspect it will happen this weekend. [37:44] We're going to find out exactly whenever the coming days. [37:46] Go ahead, baby. [37:48] The Press. [37:49] The Press. [37:50] Thank you so much, Mr. Vice President. [37:51] Just two questions for you. [37:52] To follow up on an earlier question, Secretary Rubio said in March that the goal of this war [37:57] was to, quote, to eliminate the threat of Iran's short-range ballistic missiles. [38:01] You just said earlier that the military program is destroyed. [38:05] U.S. intelligence estimates that Iran still retains roughly 70 percent of its pre-war [38:10] ballistic and cruise missile stockpile. [38:12] So when did the administration decide to abandon that part of the original mission? [38:16] And then just second as well, moving forward, are you leading the U.S. team moving forward [38:21] in terms of the negotiations? [38:22] How involved will you be? [38:23] Yeah, so I'm certainly planning to lead the U.S. negotiating team. [38:26] But on the first question, you talked about an intelligence report that was anonymously leaked [38:31] to a reporter that was not with context and that, frankly, is not accurate. [38:37] What has changed about Iranians – about the Iranian Ballistics Missile Program is it matters [38:42] much less the number of missiles they have, the number of bullets. [38:46] What matters much more is the number of launchers they have and, importantly, the teams on the [38:50] ground that have the capacity to launch those missiles. [38:53] Their ability to launch missiles has been substantially degraded. [38:56] Is it zero? [38:57] No, but it's substantially degraded. [38:59] And in that sense, we haven't abandoned the mission. [39:02] We have accomplished that particular part of the mission. [39:04] If you look at the Gulf Arab allies, and obviously the Israelis who faced a lot – the [39:09] two of them together faced a brunt of these missile attacks – each of them feels substantially [39:15] safer today from the Iranian missile threat than they did before. [39:19] Obviously, that is something that we would like to continue. [39:22] All the President said yesterday is that you can't expect any country to give up its right [39:27] of self-defense. [39:28] You have to have parity. [39:29] And that's what the President of the United States was talking about. [39:33] Go ahead. [39:35] The Pressure – [39:36] The Pressure – [39:37] The Pressure – [39:38] The Pressure – [39:39] The Pressure – [39:40] The Pressure – [39:41] The Pressure – [39:42] The Pressure – [39:43] The Pressure – [39:44] The Pressure – [39:45] The Pressure – [39:46] The Pressure – [39:47] The Pressure – [39:51] He says he welcomes the agreement between the US and Iran. [39:56] He says it hopes it will help strengthen mutual trust, security and stability in the [40:01] Middle East. [40:02] And he also hopes that it is truly a solution to the war, and that the war is really over". [40:06] What do you say the Pope is here? [40:07] The Pressure – [40:08] The Pressure – [40:09] The Pressure – [40:11] The Pressure – [40:12] The Pressure – [40:14] It'll be accurate and its going to be good for the entire world. [40:17] But we got to keep working at it to make sure that the Iranians [40:19] honor the commitments that they've made. [40:22] And the thing is, there's so many people in here, [40:30] I can say the red tie and the nine of you start shouting at us. [40:32] The, the, the burgundy tie. [40:37] The Press Press here. [40:38] The Press Press here. [40:39] The Press Press here. [40:40] There we go, that guy. [40:41] U.S. troop withdrawal from the Gulf region tied to the final deal. Can you say whether [40:46] the drawdown will affect U.S. forces past Iraq and Syria, where American troops currently [40:52] help protect Kurdish-held areas from Iranian-backed militias? [40:56] MR. Okay, so the drawdown contemplated, again, this is the final deal. This is assuming [41:00] that the Iranians comply, that they give us verification, that they take real, substantial [41:05] conduct towards this peace agreement. What we're saying is that we will withdraw troops [41:10] to the pre-conflict level, meaning we're not going to keep a couple of extra aircraft carrier [41:15] groups over there. The Iranians don't want that. Frankly, we don't want that either. [41:18] Go ahead. Yeah. [41:19] The Press is not going to be funding that $300 billion fund. Who exactly is funding that? [41:25] MR. Sure. [41:26] Is that private companies? And I also noticed that your voice is hoarse. Are you sick? [41:29] Have you been using your voice a lot? [41:31] MR. Well, I've been on a bit of a book tour the past couple of days, but I can't [41:36] promote my book here in the White House press briefing room. I had a cold about a week ago [41:40] that. And talking a lot about this deal and talking a lot about the book, I'm definitely [41:43] a little bit hoarse. But you asked, your first question was about? [41:47] The Press is funding that $300 billion. [41:49] MR. Oh, I see. So what's interesting about this is there is a great desire from the Arab [41:57] world and from outside the Arab world to actually get involved in Iran if they behave properly. [42:04] So for example, let's say the United Arab Emirates, who have been a great ally over the last, not [42:08] just a few months, but over the last many years, let's say that they would like to invest in [42:11] building a power plant. That actually is impossible right now because of the way that U.S. sanctions [42:16] work. And so what we're saying is that if you behave and if the Emiratis themselves want [42:22] to build a power plant, then we will do the sanctions relief necessary to make that possible. [42:27] The good thing about that is that it actually creates integration, which is leverage. A world [42:33] where the Gulf Coast coalition has greater leverage into the Iranian economy is a world where the [42:39] Iranians are going to be heavily prevented from misbehaving. So it's a lot of the Gulf Coast [42:44] coalition. Again, they see that Iran is weakened. They see there's an opportunity to build a new [42:48] relationship there. And they're saying if they behave and if the United States is willing to allow [42:53] this to happen, then absolutely we want to change our relationship with Iran. [42:56] The Press, Mr. President, I assume that in the United Arab Emirates there would be private [43:02] money and so forth that would that would be part of this. But again, this is so far in advance [43:06] because it assumes a transformation in Iranian behavior. Sir. [43:10] The Press, thank you so much, Mr. Vice President. As you know, the Iranian-backed groups in the [43:15] region were involved in this war and they damaged U.S. facilities and your allies as well. How does [43:20] this agreement affect Iran-backed groups across the region, especially the Iranian-backed groups in Iraq? [43:25] And my second question, this this agreement requires Iran to stop attacking the Kurdish [43:30] opposition in Kurdistan region, which they did two days ago. [43:34] So what this agreement does fundamentally is it requires Iran to behave like a normal country. [43:39] And if it doesn't, as so many people think that it never will, then it doesn't get any of the [43:43] economic benefits. And if they do, then that's a great thing for everybody. It's a great thing for [43:47] the Kurds. It's a great thing for anybody who has been under the brunt or under the threat [43:53] of Iranian-funded terrorist organizations. The expectation is that Iran will stop that, [43:58] and if they don't, they don't get the benefits of the bargain. John. [44:01] Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Many of the colleagues that you served with in the U.S. [44:05] Senate and Republican Conference have criticized this deal over the last 24 hours. What is your [44:12] message, Mr. Vice President, back to that? [44:15] So I guess I would say to anybody, any of the critics is, number one, have a little bit of [44:20] faith in the President of the United States. The idea that he is going to strike a deal that's been [44:24] bad for the American people, it's preposterous. He is the person who has had the courage to [44:29] fundamentally transform our relationship with Iran and with a lot of other countries over the last [44:33] year and a half. He believes in this deal. He is going to see it to completion. And if the Iranians [44:39] don't comply, we still have every single tool and point of leverage that we have today. That'd be [44:44] message number one, is have a little faith in the President's ability, given that he's got us this [44:48] far, to take us the final step. The second thing that I would say is so many of what I've read or [44:54] heard that people believe about this deal is just fundamentally untrue. It is a memorandum of [45:00] understanding. It is fundamentally a principle that yes, the Straits of Hormuz are going to be open [45:04] immediately, and they already are. Yes, they're going to give up their highly enriched material, [45:09] but they've got to actually do it. It's about conduct. It's about rewarding good [45:14] conduct and punishing bad conduct, which in some ways is what we've been doing for the last three [45:18] months vis-a-vis that country anyway. So, so many of the criticisms – I saw Lindsey Graham came out [45:23] with a positive statement after expressing some concerns. I think that when people get to understand [45:29] not just the agreement, but our negotiating posture as a country, they will realize this is an excellent [45:34] thing for the American people. But that's part of our job. We've got to tell the story about what this [45:39] means for Americans, how it's going to make all of us safer and more prosperous. [45:43] That's why I'm here talking to everybody, and we're going to keep on telling that story [45:47] in the days and weeks to come. Go ahead. [45:49] The Press, thank you, sir. Jordan Conrads with the Gateway Pond. [45:51] I want to talk back to the Lebanon component of the deal. [45:56] There's a report in Axios that Netanyahu is fuming over this. [46:00] Israel doesn't feel bound to the MOU as it relates to Lebanon. [46:05] As you mentioned, your frustration with Israel is real striking in Beirut, [46:10] in apartment buildings. If that continues, could it torpedo the deal? [46:14] And what would the U.S.'s response be to a broader war? [46:17] MR PRICE, Yeah, well, I don't want to get into hypotheticals that could torpedo the deal, [46:23] because I think the President's expectation is that all of our friends – the Israelis, [46:28] the Arabs in the region – we're going to work together and actually see this deal to completion. [46:32] Now, I saw the Axios report that Netanyahu is fuming. That's not reflective of the conversations [46:40] that I've had with him, but maybe he's saying something to somebody else that he's not saying to me. [46:43] What I will say – and this does bother me – is that you've seen people within [46:47] Bibi's cabinet who have come out and attacked the deal, and in some ways very personally attacked [46:53] the President of the United States. And I guess my message to them would be twofold. [46:58] Number one, Donald J. Trump is the only head of state in the entire world who is sympathetic [47:06] to the nation of Israel at this moment in time. And he happens to be the head of state of the [47:11] world's superpower. If I was in the cabinet of the Israeli government, I might not be attacking [47:17] the only powerful ally that I have anywhere left in the entire world. And the second message I would [47:23] give to some of those cabinet members – Bibi, to his credit, has not gone down this path – but to [47:28] some of these cabinet members in Israel who are attacking the President of the United States, [47:31] the other thing that I would say is that over the last three months, two-thirds of the defensive [47:37] weapons that have protected your homeland have been built by American hands and paid for by American [47:44] tax dollars. The problem for Israel is not Donald J. Trump. And anybody in Israel who thinks their biggest [47:51] problem is the President of the United States needs to wake up and smell the reality of the situation [47:58] that country is in. Thank you all. [48:31] from your home, House of Versailles, not fun. [48:35] Yeah, I mean, there was some news about it. [48:37] There was a lot of . [48:39] Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's cool. [48:40] Was it like, was it, did you have it on? [48:49] Yeah, yeah, it's a good story. [48:51] Oh, I mean, we weren't really, [48:52] there was only one visual. [48:54] Oh, wrong, I didn't see any. [48:57] No, I mean, no one can do it. [49:00] No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.