don't success and failure in signing don't make so many nato missions, findings of distracted by this mission in the middle east —— in so many nato missions full to because of this politics in the united states, as you mentioned earlier, tying its two immigration, moves on immigration at the southern border in the united states, which hard—line republicans say should get more attention than far—away wars of. say should get more attention than far-away wars of.— far-away wars of. welcome back to our world viewers _ far-away wars of. welcome back to our world viewers if _ far-away wars of. welcome back to our world viewers if you _ far-away wars of. welcome back to our world viewers if you are - far-away wars of. welcome back to our world viewers if you are just . our world viewers if you are just joining us, lyse doucet is with me onset. we are watching pictures from washington. you will forgive me for staying on these pictures, it is, as lyse has been describing, such a febrile moment, notjust in the middle east and the red sea and jordan but also in ukraine as well, and jens stoltenberg, who was with antony blinken for these meetings, deeply involved in those discussions as well, so we are going to stay with us and hopefully catch the begin of this press comforts when it starts. so much to go through, that is why i am pleased you are here,

lyse, because we need to talk on some serious issues now, as the —— they pertain to iran. what do you think the discussion will be right now in tehran?— think the discussion will be right now in tehran? they will remember what happened _ now in tehran? they will remember what happened with _ now in tehran? they will remember what happened with general - what happened with general soleimani, and the americans saying today, we will choose our response at the time of our choosing. they will be enormous pressure on president biden for that to be robust response. do you think there might be a few in tehran that they pushed it as far as they can? fir might be a few in tehran that they pushed it as far as they can? or are the auoin pushed it as far as they can? or are they going to _ pushed it as far as they can? or are they going to continue _ pushed it as far as they can? or are they going to continue doing - pushed it as far as they can? or are they going to continue doing this i they going to continue doing this all the way through an election year? all the way through an election ear? , . ., ., , year? this particular moment, it is not the only _ year? this particular moment, it is not the only moments _ year? this particular moment, it is not the only moments iran - year? this particular moment, it isi not the only moments iran has had year? this particular moment, it is i not the only moments iran has had to face up to in these last months of very high tensions. wars burning on many fronts. the israel gaza war iraq did. israel is regularly attacking iranian targets, installations and senior iranian

officials. weeks ago, is widely believed an israeli air strike which assassinated the senior iranian commander, taking care of the syria file, just outside damascus, that was a huge blow for iran. there were calls in iran for revenge, including right up to the top, with the supreme leader, who said this cannot go unpunished, and then there was the double suicide bombing said to be the most ferocious attack on iran since the 1979 iranian revolution, double suicide bombing, that shattered a memorial procession to remember custom soleimani, killed four years earlier by an american drone in baghdad, in those two blows could really pressure from the hardliners of iran to be seen to be doing something for what did iran do? iran doesn't want to get darkly involved in a war with united states involved in a war with united states in the same with united states does not want to get directly involved in

war with iran. similarly, not want to get directly involved in warwith iran. similarly, iran doesn't want to be tacking israel directly for some that would open up a whole new combustible front, so where did it attack? it attacked what was described as a soft target in iraqi kurdistan, targeting what he described as the base of mossad, the israeli spy agency, in kurdistan, in a regular, an area where iran has very good context so thought there would be less repercussions. it also struck in serie and also unexpectedly across the border in neighbouring... more --reared the border in neighbouring... more prepared to — the border in neighbouring... more prepared to stand _ the border in neighbouring... more prepared to stand up? _ the border in neighbouring... more prepared to stand up? it _ the border in neighbouring... more prepared to stand up? it struck, i the border in neighbouring... more| prepared to stand up? it struck, but carefully choosing _ prepared to stand up? it struck, but carefully choosing targets, - prepared to stand up? it struck, but carefully choosing targets, to - carefully choosing targets, to use the phrase, in areas of least resistance, not in the areas where it is axis of resistance are on high, highly volatile landscapes and to provoke another escalatory strike, so it struck but on targets

where it thought, 0k, fine, this will be the end of it. of course, it was not the end of it for pakistan. the attacks took place on the day that pakistan's acting prime minister was beating the iranian foreign minister in the pakistani says, what is this all about? two days later, they counterattacked, saying, you did not think this through. iran, like american alpha, iran felt, believed it needed to be seen to be doing something, but it needed to do something which did not set off another escalatory spiral of strike and counterstrike. it is often said that iran prides itself on what it calls its strategic patience. its main interest in the middle east is not what is happening today, tomorrow, the next day, it is a much longer game. it is preparing for the day when it does, once the gaza war is over, at some point israel will again turn his attention, its primary attention, to iran, what iran is doing in the

region, and iran needs to save its resources for the possibility of a much biggerfight, and that his wife does not want to lose its most important asset of all, which is the hezbollah fighters in lebanon —— thatis hezbollah fighters in lebanon —— that is why. it is trying to keep the fires burning to keep them under control. , , , , the fires burning to keep them under control. , , ,, _, . . control. this press conference which is cominu control. this press conference which is coming up — control. this press conference which is coming up will _ control. this press conference which is coming up will be _ control. this press conference which is coming up will be closely - control. this press conference which is coming up will be closely watched i is coming up will be closely watched in washington, for the secretary of state's response what happened at the weekend. the trump team would say, he had a better plan, in that he had iran tightly under sections, any minute those tensions were released, that allowed the rgc of the irani military, to start spinning their tensions further around the region, restocked their missiles. is that some strength in that argument, that they open pandora's box?—

that argument, that they open pandora's box? iran is so when president _ pandora's box? iran is so when president biden _ pandora's box? iran is so when president biden looks - pandora's box? iran is so when president biden looks at - pandora's box? iran is so when president biden looks at the i president biden looks at the options, there is hardly any more sanctions to impose on iran —— so sanctioned now. even the foreign policy chief for europe two years ago, he told me, there's nothing else we have imposed. they are the master of manoeuvring... manoeuvring its way around sanctions, so much so that after russia's full—scale invasion of ukraine, when more sanctions were slapped on russia, it was said russia went to iran and said, hey, show us how to do this. sanctions are a very strong tool, but they are also a very weak tool, so iran has found ways around it. and yet the uk has imposed more sanctions today.— sanctions today. they have, yes. this was not _ sanctions today. they have, yes. this was not good _ sanctions today. they have, yes. this was not good happened, - sanctions today. they have, yes. | this was not good happened, but specifically threats that were made to british citizens, specifically journalists who work for bbc

persian. ~ ., ., ~' journalists who work for bbc persian. ~ ., ., ~ ., ., persian. who work in london, the -ressures persian. who work in london, the pressures and _ persian. who work in london, the pressures and executions - persian. who work in london, the pressures and executions of - pressures and executions of opposition figures in iran as well, so, yeah, there is a constant process of imposing more and more sanctions on iran and they keep wielding this, but it has limited impact. president trump was on a number of occasions in front of the possibility of attacking iran directly, on more than one occasion he pulled back and said, no, too many civilians will die, this is too high a price to pay, this was... there was discussion when the order was given to assassinate soleimani, you may remember how that january, alarm bells rang around the world of human with people saying, why did the military planners even give that to president trump as an option? it should have been kept off the table. but in retrospect, iran did retaliate both in terms of its actions in the nuclear programme and

in terms of attacking american bases, but as i mentioned earlier there was back door messaging to try to, 0k, there was back door messaging to try to, ok, let's keep this in order of let's not escalate, and again iran knew that it stood to lose even more if it continued to crank up the tension. �* , ., if it continued to crank up the tension. �* , . , ., , tension. best laid plans - we were exectin: tension. best laid plans - we were expecting this _ tension. best laid plans - we were expecting this press _ tension. best laid plans - we were expecting this press conference i tension. best laid plans - we were expecting this press conference to i expecting this press conference to start a good 15, 20 minutes ago, but as you have been gleaning from everything lyse is telling you, there's plenty to discuss, so we can perhaps forgive them for not being on time at this particular moment. we'll take a break, we will take a short break hopefully lyse can stay with us... they are there! let's dive in and listen what they have to say. here we go. good afternoon, everyone. first, let me say what a pleasure it is as always to have secretary—general stoltenberg here in washington at the state department. let me first

note the drone attack yesterday by iranian backed militia on us forces injordan. it killed three of our soldiers, wounded many others. first and foremost, i am thinking of those who lost their lives, those who were wounded, theirfamily members and theirfriends. every day, we have our men and women in uniform around the world who are putting their lives on the line for our security. for our freedom. lives on the line for our security. for ourfreedom. iam, as lives on the line for our security. for ourfreedom. i am, as always, humbled by their courage and their sacrifice. from the outset, we have been very clear in warning that anyone looking to take advantage of conflict in the middle east and try

to expand it, don't do it. we have taken steps to expand it, don't do it. we have ta ken steps to to expand it, don't do it. we have taken steps to defend ourselves and to defend our partners, as well as to defend our partners, as well as to prevent escalation. any president has been crystal clear — we will respond decisively to any aggression. and we will hold responsible people who attacked our troops, we will do so at a time and a place of our choosing —— and the president has been. at the same time we remain focused on our core objectives in the region, both in terms of the conflict in gaza and broader efforts to build truly durable peace and security. to that end, i am had an opportunity to meet with the prime minister of qatar on the ongoing efforts to get hostages out and to create extended pause. this is critical to them being able to get to the formula that we have been talking about for putting a

durable end to the cycle of violence that we have seen in the region for generation after generation, and the opportunity that exists to actually achieve it. an integrated israel with relations with all of its neighbours, security commitments, assurances that it needs to make sure that it can move forward in peace and security, a palestinian authority that is performed in a clear pathway to a palestinian state. that vision and its realisation can dramatically change the security circumstance for israel, for the palestinians, for all of our partners in the region, and at the same time isolate the small number of actors who don't want to get there, who have a very different vision for what the future is, notably iran, a different vision that we see playing out every simmo day either directly by iran or by

its proxies —— every single day. but the way to durable security is through a region that is more integrated, with relations among its countries normalised and where the question of the rights of palestinians is finally answered. jens and i had an opportunity to talk about the nato summit into talk about other matters relating to our alliance. i have to say once again, we see that nato is advancing with a sense of urgency and a strong sense not only of unity of purpose but unity of action. just at the very end of last week, turkey approved sweden's accession to nato, sweden brings tremendous capabilities to the alliance in every domain, hungary now will have to act in order to complete the process of

sweden's accession, but i fully anticipate that will happen in the weeks ahead when hungary's parliament returns. now, these accession a both sweden and finn then was farfrom accession a both sweden and finn then was far from inevitable. in fact, if you go back a little over two years, no one was talking about it, but you because moscow's renewed aggression against ukraine, both countries felt that it was clearly in their interest to defend their people and defend their sovereignty byjoining the alliance. i think the process that we have seen in actually record time, first with finland and now with sweden, demonstrates that nato's door is open, remains open, including two ukraine, which will become a member of nato. this also underscores one of nato. this also underscores one of the many ways in which putin's aggression against ukraine has been an abject strategic failure for russia, how

it has in fact precipitate of the many things that putin sought to prevent. he wanted to shriek and nato, it is now larger and getting larger still. nato, it is now larger and getting largerstill. —— nato, it is now larger and getting larger still. —— shrink nato. he wanted to weaken nato, it is stronger than it has ever been. all of this will i think, to an important infection point when we get to the delrue summit, the historic nato summit that we are very honoured to host in washington in july. this very honoured to host in washington injuly. this is going to be i think the most ambitious summit since the end of the cold war, showing nato's adaptation to new challenges and new threats, whether it is russia, in very different ways, the drc, the cyber domain, terrorism, and what you're seeing is an alliance that is coming together in new ways, and stronger ways, to make sure that it can deal effectively with those challenges. and even as we are celebrating, when we get to the nato

summit, 75 years of its history, the real focus of the summit is going to be on the next 75 years and everything nato has done to adapt and make itself as it has been indispensable to the defence and security of its members. some of those capabilities and some of that strength was on display as we kicked off the largest nato military exercises since the end of the cold war, steadfast defender, 90,000 personnel. sending a very clear message this alliance is ready and it is able to defend every square inch of nato territory. we discussed with the secretary—general nato's unwavering support for ukraine. last week, nato cited $1.2 billion contract to produce 220,000 artillery shells. that is going to help allies restock their own arsenals and it components efforts by the united states, by the european union, by ukraine to ramp up european union, by ukraine to ramp up defence production. this'll make

nato itself and all allies much more resilient for future threats as we move forward. as all of us take on these challenges, and i want to emphasise, in the case of ukraine, we've seen is very, very clearly, there probably never been a at her of burden sharing in the history of the alliance and the partnerships that we have with different countries than we see when it comes to ukraine, as i've mentioned before, the support that the united states has provided ukraine has been exceptional, about $75 billion over the last couple of years, but our partners and allies, notably our core nato allies, have provided more than $110 billion over that same period of time, and whether it is military support from economic support, humanitarian support, the burden sharing we have seen indicates if you could have been more than exemplary. but in order to make sure that that continues, all of us stepped up and do what is necessary, to continue to ensure

that ukraine no success and russian does techeetah failure, it is vital that congress passed the civil mental budget reports —— ukraine knost success and russian does strategic failure... everything we have helped them achieve will be in jeopardy. absent that supplemental, we are going to be sending a strong and wrong message to all of our adversaries that we are not serious about the defence of freedom, the defence of democracy, and it will simply reinforce for vladimir putin that he can somehow outlast ukraine and outlast us. well, that's not going to be the case. we have to make sure that it is not the case. finally, let me just say that we have a lot of work to do over the next few months to prepare for the summit. ithink next few months to prepare for the summit. i think we had to date very good sessions with the secretary—general and we will be meeting shortly with the national

security adviser, the secretary of defence over at the pentagon, to continue that work. i look forward to that and look forward to the weeks and months ahead as we look for to the native summit. jens come over to you. for to the native summit. jens come over to yon-— over to you. thank you, secretary clinton. over to you. thank you, secretary clinton- -- _ over to you. thank you, secretary clinton. -- nato _ over to you. thank you, secretary clinton. -- nato summit. - thank you, it is good to meet with you and _ thank you, it is good to meet with you and it — thank you, it is good to meet with you and it is — thank you, it is good to meet with you and it is important given the dangers— you and it is important given the dangers we face. let me begin by offering _ dangers we face. let me begin by offering my deepest condolences for the us— offering my deepest condolences for the us troops killed and wounded in yesterday's drone attack in jordan. we see _ yesterday's drone attack in jordan. we see iran — yesterday's drone attack in jordan. we see iran continue to destabilise the region — we see iran continue to destabilise the region. iran also bears responsibility for backing terrorists who attack ships in the red sea — terrorists who attack ships in the red sea. tehran's behaviour reminds us of— red sea. tehran's behaviour reminds us of what _ red sea. tehran's behaviour reminds us of what a — red sea. tehran's behaviour reminds us of what a world without rules would _ us of what a world without rules would look like. unpredictable and dangerous, a world where our security— dangerous, a world where our security becomes more expensive. i

welcome _ security becomes more expensive. i welcome your tireless clemency, secretary— welcome your tireless clemency, secretary blinken, to prevent further — secretary blinken, to prevent further escalation in the war in gaza _ further escalation in the war in gaza -- — further escalation in the war in gaza —— tireless diplomacy. your efforts— gaza —— tireless diplomacy. your efforts to — gaza —— tireless diplomacy. your efforts to alleviate human suffering and your— efforts to alleviate human suffering and your hard work towards a peaceful— and your hard work towards a peaceful resolution. russia's virtual — peaceful resolution. russia's virtual war against ukraine is nearing — virtual war against ukraine is nearing the two—year mark and a russian — nearing the two—year mark and a russian victory would embolden iran, north— russian victory would embolden iran, north korea and china. that matters for europe's — north korea and china. that matters for europe's security and it matters for europe's security and it matters for america's security. so supporting ukraine serves us interests. for a tiny fraction of annual— us interests. for a tiny fraction of annual defence spending, the united states— annual defence spending, the united states has— annual defence spending, the united states has helped ukraine destroy a major— states has helped ukraine destroy a major part— states has helped ukraine destroy a major part of russia's combat capacity. _ major part of russia's combat capacity, without placing a single american — capacity, without placing a single american soldier in harm's way. i

welcome — american soldier in harm's way. i welcome the clear commitment from president _ welcome the clear commitment from president biden and you to sustain us support ukraine into with congress to achieve that. as you said, _ congress to achieve that. as you said. our— congress to achieve that. as you said, ourallies congress to achieve that. as you said, our allies are also stepping up. said, our allies are also stepping up in _ said, our allies are also stepping up in fact, — said, our allies are also stepping up. in fact, european nato allies in canada _ up. in fact, european nato allies in canada provide, in terms of military, _ canada provide, in terms of military, financial and humanitarian aid can— military, financial and humanitarian aid can actually exceeds what the us is providing, so this is truly a joint — is providing, so this is truly a joint effort by all nato allies, from — joint effort by all nato allies, from both sides of the atlantic. and i am confident that all nato allies will continue to deliver, because reporting — will continue to deliver, because reporting ukraine is notjust tell charity, — reporting ukraine is notjust tell charity, it — reporting ukraine is notjust tell charity, it is an investment in our own— charity, it is an investment in our own security _ charity, it is an investment in our own security —— supporting ukraine is not _ own security —— supporting ukraine is notjust— own security —— supporting ukraine is not just charity. own security —— supporting ukraine is notjust charity. president putin started _ is notjust charity. president putin started this war and he could and it today— started this war and he could and it today if— started this war and he could and it today if he — started this war and he could and it today if he stopped attacking a neighbour. the war could also and if ukraine _ neighbour. the war could also and if ukraine stopped defending itself,

but ukraine stopped defending itself, hut that— ukraine stopped defending itself, but that would not mean peace. it would _ but that would not mean peace. it would mean russian occupation, and occupation _ would mean russian occupation, and occupation is not peace. ajust peace — occupation is not peace. ajust peace will— occupation is not peace. ajust peace will require president putin to realise — peace will require president putin to realise that he will not get what he wants _ to realise that he will not get what he wants on the battlefield. moscow must accept and negotiated solution where _ must accept and negotiated solution where ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation. what happens _ sovereign, independent nation. what happens around the negotiating table is inextricably linked to the situation on the battlefield, so if we want — situation on the battlefield, so if we want a — situation on the battlefield, so if we want a lasting just peace, we must _ we want a lasting just peace, we must provide ukraine with more inanition— must provide ukraine with more inanition and weapons for weapons to ukraine _ inanition and weapons for weapons to ukraine is— inanition and weapons for weapons to ukraine is the path to peace. finally— ukraine is the path to peace. finally we also discussed adapting our alliance for the future. in july, — our alliance for the future. in july, we _ our alliance for the future. in july, we will mark nato's 75th anniversary with a summit here in washington. and as you said, nato is getting _ washington. and as you said, nato is getting stronger and bigger,

washington. and as you said, nato is getting strongerand bigger, finland is already— getting strongerand bigger, finland is already a member, sweden will become _ is already a member, sweden will become a — is already a member, sweden will become a member soon, and this demonstrates that putin is getting exactly— demonstrates that putin is getting exactly the opposite of what he wanted — exactly the opposite of what he wanted. he wanted less nato, a week nato - _ wanted. he wanted less nato, a week nato - he _ wanted. he wanted less nato, a week nato - he is— wanted. he wanted less nato, a week nato — he is getting a stronger and more _ nato — he is getting a stronger and more united nato and a nation with more _ more united nato and a nation with more members. at the summit we will take further— more members. at the summit we will take further summits to bolster nato's — take further summits to bolster nato's strength and invest more in our defence and work with partners around _ our defence and work with partners around the — our defence and work with partners around the world. through nato, the us has— around the world. through nato, the us has more — around the world. through nato, the us has more friends and allies than any other— us has more friends and allies than any other power, together, we make up any other power, together, we make up if the _ any other power, together, we make up if the percent of the world's economic— up if the percent of the world's economic and military might. —— make up economic and military might. —— make up 50%~ _ economic and military might. —— make up 50%~ china — economic and military might. —— make up 50%. china and russia have nothing — up 50%. china and russia have nothing like nato. it is why they always — nothing like nato. it is why they always try — nothing like nato. it is why they always try to undermine our unity. in always try to undermine our unity. in times _ always try to undermine our unity. in times of— always try to undermine our unity. in times of competition and rivalry, nato _ in times of competition and rivalry, nato makes the us stronger and safer in all of— nato makes the us stronger and safer in all of us _ nato makes the us stronger and safer in all of us more secure. secretary blinken. _ in all of us more secure. secretary blinken, tony, thank you again for your personal commitment to our transatlantic bond, and to our

shared — transatlantic bond, and to our shared security. thank you. for the first question. _ shared security. thank you. for the first question, olivia _ shared security. thank you. for the first question, olivia with _ shared security. thank you. for the first question, olivia with cbs. - first question, 0livia with cbs. thank— first question, 0livia with cbs. thank you. _ first question, 0livia with cbs. thank you, matt, _ first question, 0livia with cbs. thank you, matt, and - first question, 0livia with cbs. thank you, matt, and thank. first question, 0livia with cbs. . thank you, matt, and thank you, first question, 0livia with cbs. - thank you, matt, and thank you, mr secretary _ thank you, matt, and thank you, mr secretary. the date, the united states— secretary. the date, the united states has not cleared accused iran of being _ states has not cleared accused iran of being directly involved in any attacks — of being directly involved in any attacks on— of being directly involved in any attacks on us forces the well noting the regime in iran supports and does not discourage its proxy from conducting these attacks. this weekend's lethal strike was one of at least _ weekend's lethal strike was one of at least 160 attacks on us forces in the region— at least 160 attacks on us forces in the region by iranian proxies stuck to her~ _ the region by iranian proxies stuck to her. could earlier stronger action— to her. could earlier stronger action by— to her. could earlier stronger action by the united states against iran action by the united states against iran and _ action by the united states against iran and notjust its militias have spared _ iran and notjust its militias have spared american lives? secondly, if i may, _ spared american lives? secondly, if i may, if— mr secretary, the u integrity in generalm _ mr secretary, the u integrity in general... suspending funding to unrwa — general... suspending funding to unrwa after allegation that at least a dozen _ unrwa after allegation that at least a dozen of us 13,000 employees may have had _ a dozen of us 13,000 employees may have had involvement in the october the 7th _ have had involvement in the october the 7th attacks and more than a dozen _ the 7th attacks and more than a dozen or—

the 7th attacks and more than a dozen or may have links to militant groups _ dozen or may have links to militant groups. underwhat dozen or may have links to militant groups. under what circumstances and how soon— groups. under what circumstances and how soon could the us considered resuming — how soon could the us considered resuming its support considering this decision comes as gaza is tipping — this decision comes as gaza is tipping into famine and given your own personal persistent appeal that humanitarian aid to gaza civilians increase — humanitarian aid to gaza civilians increase and not decrease? mr secretary—general, welcome back to washington. the united states congress means at a political and pass regarding continued aid to ukraine — pass regarding continued aid to ukraine and european union is likewise — ukraine and european union is likewise struggling politically. to restart _ likewise struggling politically. to restart the flow resources into pdf. you yourself have said ukraine's spring _ you yourself have said ukraine's spring offensive did not lead to the results _ spring offensive did not lead to the results many had hoped for so how lon- results many had hoped for so how long does— results many had hoped for so how long does ukraine's military have been _ long does ukraine's military have been for— long does ukraine's military have been for the marginal successes that he did _ been for the marginal successes that he did not— been for the marginal successes that he did not when it enjoyed steadier resources _ he did not when it enjoyed steadier resources from the west risk being reversed _ resources from the west risk being reversed by russia which seems to be enjoying _ reversed by russia which seems to be enjoying drawing support from the likes of— enjoying drawing support from the likes of north korea and iran? briefly, — likes of north korea and iran? briefly, i— likes of north korea and iran? briefly, i understand you will be meeting — briefly, i understand you will be meeting with american lawmakers

during _ meeting with american lawmakers during this trip to washington, much as president zelensky did when he was here _ as president zelensky did when he was here late last year. is there a message — was here late last year. is there a message you believe you can deliver to those _ message you believe you can deliver to those lawmakers to make a timely difference? _ to those lawmakers to make a timely difference? . ~ to those lawmakers to make a timely difference? ., ,, , ., to those lawmakers to make a timely difference? ., ,, i. . ., difference? thank you so much and also thank you _ difference? thank you so much and also thank you for _ difference? thank you so much and also thank you for representing - difference? thank you so much and| also thank you for representing your colleagues and asking other questions as well. appreciate it. look, first, i think it is very important to note that this is an incredibly volatile time in the middle east. i would argue that we've not seen a situation as injurious as the one we are facing now across the region since at least 1973, and arguably even before that, and that is the environment in which we are operating, and of course i was triggered by the horrific attacks of october the 7th by hamas. against innocent women and children —— that was triggered by. we have

made very, very clear from day one that we are going to defend our people, our personnel, our interests, and that is exactly what we have done. we have taken action, significant action, to deter groups, to degrade their capabilities in iraq, in syria, in yemen. at the same time the president has been very clear that we want to prevent broader escalation, we want to prevent this conflict from spreading, so we are intent on doing both. that is, standing up for our people when they are attacked while at the same time working every single day to prevent the conflict from growing and spreading. and that is exactly what we will continue to do. it is fundamentally what is in the interest of the united states, what is in the interest of the region and i think what is in the interest of the world. but the president said this, i think,

virtually from day one, to anyone who would try to use the crisis in the middle east, the conflict in the middle east, to so further instability and to use it as an excuse to attack our personnel, we will respond, we will respond as strongly, we will respond at a time and place of our choosing, and obviously i am not going to telegraph what we might do in this instance or get ahead of the president, but i can again tell you that the president said yesterday, we will respond. and that response could be multileveled, come in stages and be sustained over time. with regard to 0ndra, with regard to unrwa, stages and be sustained over time. with regard to unrwa, the reports we received last week and unrwa brought them to us were deeply, deeply troubling. it is imperative that

unrwa immediately, as it said it would, investigate, that it hold people accountable, as necessary, and that it review its procedures. i had a very good conversation with secretary—general of the united nations, when we were first made aware of these allegations, and we are going to look very hard a few steps 0ndra takes, again, to make sure this is fully and thoroughly investigated, that there is clear accountability and that is necessary, measures are put in place so that this does not happen —— steps unrwa takes. assuming the allegations are fully borne out. we have not had the ability to investigate them ourselves, but they are highly, highly credible. at the same time and as you indicated, unrwa has played and continues to play and absolutely in the spendable role in trying to make sure that

men, women and children who so desperately need assistance in does actually get it —— on expendable role. no one has the reach, capacity, structure to do what unrwa has been doing, and from our perspective, it is more than important, it is imperative that role continues, so that only underscores the importance of unrwa tackling this as quickly, as effectively and as thoroughly as possible, and that is what we are looking for. i will meet members of congress tomorrow— i will meet members of congress tomorrow and of course i am looking forward _ tomorrow and of course i am looking forward to _ tomorrow and of course i am looking forward to discussing many issues with them. — forward to discussing many issues with them, including ukraine. i forward to discussing many issues with them, including ukraine. lam confident— with them, including ukraine. lam confident that all nato allies, also united _ confident that all nato allies, also united states, will continue to provide — united states, will continue to provide support to ukraine because this is—

provide support to ukraine because this is in— provide support to ukraine because this is in our— provide support to ukraine because this is in our own security interest to do— this is in our own security interest to do so. — this is in our own security interest to do so. it — this is in our own security interest to do so. it will be a tragedy for ukrainians— to do so. it will be a tragedy for ukrainians of president putin wins and it— ukrainians of president putin wins and it will— ukrainians of president putin wins and it will also make the world more dangerous— and it will also make the world more dangerous and more insecure. it will embolden _ dangerous and more insecure. it will embolden other leaders, not only president — embolden other leaders, not only president putin, but also north korea. — president putin, but also north korea, iran and china to use force. today— korea, iran and china to use force. today it _ korea, iran and china to use force. today it is — korea, iran and china to use force. today it is ukraine, tomorrow it could _ today it is ukraine, tomorrow it could he — today it is ukraine, tomorrow it could be taiwan so therefore it is in our— could be taiwan so therefore it is in our interest to ensure ukraine continues— in our interest to ensure ukraine continues as an independent sovereign nation and the support we are providing is making a difference. there is a steady flow of munitions and weapons from nato allies and _ of munitions and weapons from nato allies and we have seen that this support— allies and we have seen that this support has enabled the ukrainians to actually make big achievements. we have _ to actually make big achievements. we have to — to actually make big achievements. we have to remember where we started. — we have to remember where we started. this war started with a full—fledged invasion in february last year—

full—fledged invasion in february last year or in 2022, most experts