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>> secretary of state blinken spoke to the atlantic could be sill about the situation in the middle east including the state of the ceasefire agreement between israel and hamas. throughout the event secretary blinken was interrupted by protesters who were critical of american support for israel and its ongoing war in gaza. this runs just under one hour. >> greetings to thoas joining us here in person and around the world. i'm fred camp. i'm pleased to welcome you to the decision of atlantic council front page, our premier platform for global leaders. we are here today with the 71st second retear of state, antony j. blinken. this event is being live streemed on atlantic council tv. youtube. facebook. and x. you can join the conversation on x by following the atlantic

council and using the hashtag, #acfrontpage. secretary blinken we are honored you have come to the atlantic council to deliver what will be your final speech as america's top diplomat, focusing on the middle east, a region i don't have to tell anyone in this room has undergone many changes. this is in the context of a historic moment globally, one that president biden again yesterday in his speech at the state department described as an inflek point, characterized by wars in the middle east, europe and after character rising tensions with china, and an accelerated competition for the commanding heights of technological change. before we go any further, i want to salute you, secretary blinken, for your remarkable leadership and contributions through this moment of historic challenge, following your rich contributions over so many years of distinguished public service

previously. returning to the middle east, the region has been transformed after hamas terrorist attacks against israel and hostage taking of october 7, 2023 and by everything that's followed that. israel's subsequent wars in gaza and lebanon. direct military exchanges between israel and iran. unprecedented nature. the ceasefire in lebanon and the fall of the assad regime in syria. at the atlantic council we have sought to highlight the stakes and potential solutions across the middle east. we've done so through many years through our center for the middle east, through our scowcroft middle east security initiative and iran strategy project as well as through our strategic project hold the iranian regime accountable and establish a syrian victims fund. significantly we have also done this through our n-7 initiative in partnership with the jeffrey

palpans foundation which seeks to sans the integration launched by the abraham accords between the united states, israel and arab and muslim partners around the world. thanks to will wexler and the atlantic council's take. history is in motion and you've been at the center of it. with your work to advance the united states to secure a more prosperous global future. as you wrote recently regarding u.s. forbe policy, quote, the choices the united states makes in the second half of this decisive decade will determine whether this remains a time of renewal returns to a time aggression. one last thing before secretary blinken takes the stage. in a moving exchange between you and president biden yesterday at the state department, the president said the following about you. quote, you're not only brilliant, you have more

character and integrity than almost anybody i know. it's now my privilege to welcome secretary of state blinken, a man of integrity and accomplishment in the final days of one of the world east most challenging jobs to deliver keynote remarks. after the secretary's speech i'll join him in conversation on stage. mr. secretary, the floor is yours. [applause] secretary blinken: thank you. thank you very much. thank you. good morning, everyone. fred, to you, thank you for that incredibly generous introduction. thank you especially for your leadership on this council over nearly two decades. it's wonderful to be with you today, wonderful to be in this new location. back in the 1960's, leading diplomats, public intellectuals philanthropists and others came

together in washington to create an organization founded on meeting the challenges of an increasingly connected world. in attendance among other, secretary of state dean rusk who was blunt about what he thought would be most useful to this council. the department ohoping for initiative, research, and if necessary, the boxing of state department ears. that's exactly what the council has delivered for more than 6 1/2 decades, starting with the transatlantic relationship, growing to expertise in other pooforts the world including the region i want to talk about today, the middle east. from the outset, if the biden administration's primary goal in the middle east was not to repeat the blunder of years past but try to transform its governments or societies but rather to transform relations with, between and among u.s. partners in the region. that's because we saw a more integrated region as more likely to be stable and secure. to deliver economic opportunity

for its people. to find solutions to share challenge -- shared challenges from pandemics to infrastructure and energy needs. and to be in a stronger position to prevent any one of its neighbors from dominating the others. or any outside country from dominating the region. to deter aggression and nuclear proliferation. to avert, de-escalate and end conflict through diplomacy. we proved swiftly to pursue this vision. we deepened and broadened the abraham accords. we spearheaded new coalitions bringing together india, israel, united arab emirates and the united states. to tackle shared channels. we announced a ground breaking economic corridor connecting india and the middle east and europe. we worked with the u.n. to mediate a truce in yemen. with econtinued to lead and strengthen an 87-nation countericisco lition. in the wake of the trump's administration misguided exit from the iran nuclear deal we

made clear there was a path to compliance if itehran was willing to take the steps necessary. >> secretary blinken! your legacy will be genocide. you will forever be known as bloody blinken! secretary of genocide! you have the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent people on your hands! we have -- secretary blinken: i respect your views, please allow me to share mine. >> we appeal to your humantism we write your letters, the blood of innocent civilians, of children is on your hands! we will not forget. we will not forgive we will hold you accountable. we will hold you accountable. bloody blinken! secretary of genocide

so to continue, at the same time we strengthen america's robust regime on iran and deliver president biden's commitment that iran would not obtain a finally, we made significant progress on a agreement that would strengthen our partnership with saudi arabia and normalize relations between saudi arabia and israel. on october 10, 2023, i was scheduled to travel to israel and saudi arabia to help close remaining gaps in the normalization deal. and in particular to pursue an agreement on one of the essential components, an incredible pathway to the palestinian state with ironclad security guarantees for israel. on october 7, hamas attacked israel, unleashing the deadliest day for jews since the holocaust. hamas killed more than 1,200 men, women, and children, torturing, maiming, sexually assaulting many of its victims.

the overwhelming majority of hamas himself victims are civilians and included citizens from more than 30 countries. among them, 46 americans. hamas also took more than 250 people hostage, including some 30 children and 12 americans. seven of those americans remain hostages to this day. now, the timing of hamas' attack was no accident. israel's growing integration into the region, the prospect of normalization with saudi arabia posed an existential threat to hamas' power and dominations to the palestinian landscape and the rejection of two states and the destruction of israel. as notes recovered from the meeting of the top officials, hamas sought a regional war to derail this agreement and know ing that would inflict suffering on all sides, including the palestinian people

whose interests they claimed to represent. in the wake of the attack, president biden made clear the unwavering commitment to help israel defend itself and prevent another october 7. he determined to avert a broader regional conflict with the death and destruction that would bring. he took immediate steps to prevent the conflict from spreading, deploying our guided missile submarine and ships and troops to the region, and he pledged unrelenting efforts to secure the release of the hostages. he became the first u.s. president to travel to israel in wartime and telling the israeli people directly, you are not alone. he reminded israel that while the country had a right, indeed an obligation to defend itself, how it did so mattered. it was imperative to protect civilians and provide them with humanitarian assistance. these are the goals we worked to

advance this in the region. >> how do you break american law and hurt children in the thousands. and you're telling civilized people that you are doing what? kill, kill, the policy in the middle east. kill, kill the israelis. you're a war criminal. he you're a monster. secretary blinken: all of this has been part of an all administration effort, led by president biden including dave sullivan, barbara leaf, and our diplomats across the region and around the globe. now, more than 15 months later, hamas' military governance capacity has been decimated and the masterminds behind the attack have been killed. tehran is on its back foot. the two missile attacks were

thwarted by regional partners we assembled. israel's response we played a central role in shaping, demolished air defenses and left iran's military sites exposed and vulnerable and sent a clear message of deterrence, while at the same time avoiding a dangerousest came la tore cycle. hezbollah, iran's most shadowy broxsie, eliminated and the tunnels and manufacturing ravaged. in lebanon hezbollah battled forces and retreated north of the letani river as part of the broken peace he agreement. after iran poured decades into propping up machinery, the assad regime has he receded. no one was in position to save him this time. all were bogged down in crisis of their own making which the united states effectively

exacerbated. iran lost its supply to hezbollah. many of assad supply regime and weapons including illegal chemical weapons have been destroyed by israel. it's not just what we achieved but also what we prevented. when i traveled across the region in the days after october 7, i heard from partners a palpable sense of alarm that regional war was coming, the combination of american diplomatic and military action and assistance to preserve and strengthen israel's deterrent helped prevent that from happening in the weeks after october 7 and multiple charged moments since. america's allies and partners, particularly in the middle east, have taken note of who they can rely on to stand by their friends and who they cannot. which powers work to defuse crisis and which powers stand back and do nothing and make problems worse. the balance of power is shifting dramatically and not in the way hamas and its backers hoped or

planned. and yet the region remains rife with risk from syria's transition to iran's declaration to restore deterrence and apply for the nuclear ambitions and the hughesies attacking international shipping and the dearth of opportunity and oppression of human rights in several countries. once more, while the strategic gains made the past 15 months are real, they've come at tremendous and excruciating costs. for the families of the concertgoers and soldiers and children killed in the october 7 attack, unfathomable greer persist. for those with loved ones and friends still being held hostage, every day bring more anguish not knowing if their loved ones are suffering or even alive. the ongoing humanitarian crisis in gaza has inflicted immeasurable suffering on palestinians, women, children, and men trapped in a conflict

they did not start and are powerless to stop. tens of thousands of people killed in gaza. nearly the entire population has lost a loved one. nearly the entire population is enduring hunger. more than two million people have been displaced and many multiple times. most have no home to go to. so many homes in gaza have been damaged or destroyed. gaza is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a child, to be a civilian, to be a journalist. and as always happens in conflict, the more people suffer the less they feel sympathy for the other side. throughout the muslim world, the majority of them believe october 7 didn't happen or if it did it was a legitimate attack on israel's military.

in israel there's no reporting in gaza. we should share sorrow and it makes a sense of common humanity. and without it we lose co-existence. for the united states, a country with unique global engagements and responsibilities conflict put our personnel and stockpiles and readiness. terrorist groups are exploiting the happening in gaza. and autocrats use it to advance their efforts to challenge the international rules of principles that safeguard american interests and values. and of course it has divided our

communities, from college campuses to houses of worship, and to families. given the costs, especially the how many costs, we have a responsibility to ensure the strategic gains of the past 15 months endure and lay the foundation for a better future. all too often in the middle east we see how the shoes of one dictator can be filled by another and give way to conflict and chaos. how a nation can expel one power and have another one take its place. how stamping out one terrorist group can spawn more lethal successors. so we don't want to turn back the clock to the way things were before october 7, it's to forge another reality in the middle east in which all people are more secure and all can realize their national aspirations and all can live in peace. is that hard to achieve?

>> for over 450 days, israel has been identified as -- over $25 billion in israel the last year. that's all of our money. that's $70 we're using. it's genocide. you lied may 10th at the conference. you lied! secretary blinken: is it hard? yes. is it impossible? no. is it necessary? absolutely yes. and that's why we pursued three enter he related diplomatic goals, brokering and solution to the israel-hezbollah conflict and ending war in gaza and normalizing relations between israelis and palestinians and to

achieve the realism they need. and israel lived far too long with a problem at the northern border, hezbollah, a terrorist organization, whose stated goals include the deinstruction of israel controlled large parts of lebanon's territory including lands past of the river. land hezbollah used with iran's support to train fighters and stockpile arms, it build weapons and tunnels, to carry out deadly attacks on israel. starting october 7, hezbollah launched thousands of missiles at israel's communities pledging to continuities attacks until israel ended the military operation in gaza. hezbollah's aggression has come at grave costs for israelis and lebanese people alike. some 7,000 israelis have been forced out of their homes along the israel northern border. in lebanon thousands have been killed, a quarter of lebanon's

population. our goal in seeking hostilities was not to pause the fighting and subvert a regional war but rather, reaim hezbollah from constituting to threaten israel or continue to hold the lebanese state or lebanese people hostage. we wanted to create conditions allowing the displacement of lebanese families to return safely to their homes. the arrangement we brokered together with france meets those bench marks and empowers the government of lebanon to retake control of its territory and provides lebanon's economy and security forces with much needed aid and support and preserves israel's right to defend itself in accordance with international law and achieves israel's aim at dealing with hostilities from the war in gaza. since the deal was signed, israeli forces have started to withdraw from southern lebanon. the lebanese military is deployed in their place, to ensure remaining terrorist infrastructures are helped and

they're working hour by hour to address violations. and now just six weeks after the deal, lebanon's parliament voted overwhelmingly to elect a new president. the first time the country had a national leader in more than two years. just yesterday elected a new prime minister. both are important steps in becoming secure, a sovereign and successful nation and meeting the needs of the lebanese people. second, we sought to end the war in gaza in a way that would lay the foundation for during peace as well as advance the legitimate security of israel and for a viable state. one month in with a meeting in tokyo, i outlined principles the united states saw as essential to achieving these goals. the principles included the gaza never ruled by hamas or used as a platform to terrorism or other

attacks, new palestinian led governance with gaza united with the west bank under the palestinian authority. no israeli military in gaza or a reduction in territory. no attempt after the conflict to besiege or block it and no forcible displacement of gaza's population. these principles called for establishing a sustained mechanism for gaza's recovery and reconstruction and creating a pathway for israelis and palestinians living side by side with freedom, opportunity and dignity. now, we and our partners recognize we can't achieve these goals overnight. the first step is to achieve a initial cease-fire. six weeks during which israel and hamas stopped firing and israeli forces pulled back and hostages start to come home, palestinian prisoners are released and humanitariansian assistance surges into gaza and find space for a day after plan

to allow the full withdrawal of israeli forces and make the cease-fire permanent and bring the remaining hostages home. once we assess that israel has achieved the main objective in gaza, ensuring hamas is incapable of carrying out another october 7, president biden detailed his cease-fire plan and we went around the world preparing support. the security counsel adopted a resolution supporting it with 14 members voting for it and not a single member voting against it. the arab league and countries and regions beyond affirmed their support. hamas, the lone holdout but now thoroughly isolated finally accepted president biden's framework. in the time sense we've worked relentlessly with qatar and egypt to negotiate the details and the implementation of the agreement. now, at different moments, different parties have made it hard to finalize an agreement or events have delayed or derailed

the achievement. the past several months hamas has played the spoiler but over the past several weeks our intensive efforts have brought us to the brink of full and final agreement. on sunday, the united states, qatar, and egypt put forward a final proposal. the ball is now in hamas' court. if hamas accepts, the deal is ready to be concluded and implemented. i believe we'll get a cease-fire. and whether we get there in the remaining days of our administration or after january 20th, i believe the deal will follow closely the terms of the agreement that president biden put forward last may and our administration rallied the world behind. now, from the outset, we also recognize we couldn't afford to wait until a cease-fire to plan for what would follow it. for many months, we've been working intensely with our partners to develop a detailed post conflict plan that would allow israel to fully withdraw from gaza, prevent hamas from pulling back in and provide for

gaza's governance and security and reconstruction, drawing on the principles i originally set out in tokyo. we'll hand that off to the trump administration to carry it forward. let me share a few core elements this morning. we believe that the palestinian authority should invite international partners to help establish and run an interim administration with responsibility for key civil sectors in gaza like banking, water, health, civil coordination with israel. the international community will provide funding and technical support and oversight. the administration would include representatives from gaza and the p.a. and select meaningful conversations with communities in gaza and hand over complete responsibility to a fully formed administration as soon as feasible. they would operate in close cooperation with a senior u.n. official who should oversee the international stabilization and recovery effort. an interim security mission would be made up of members of partner nation security forces

and vetted palestinian personnel. its responsibilities would include creating a secure environment for humanitarian and reconstruction efforts and ensuring border security which is crucial to preventing smuggling that can allow hamas to rebuild the capacity. we would stand up a new initiative to vet a force to gaza to focus on law and order and gradually take over from the interim security mission. these arrangements would be enshrined in a u.n. security council resolution. some partners have expressed their willingness to contribute troops for the mission but only if it's agreed gaza and the west banks are reunified under a reformed p.a. as part of a pathway to a independent palestinian state. and therein lies the rub. reaching an agreement will require all parties to summon the political will to make key

compromises. they will have to support palestinian led governance and preventing hamas' return. the p.a. will need to carry out swift, far-reaching reform to build more transparent accountable governance, continuing a process it began last year. israel will accept gaza in the west bank under a reformed p.a. and all must embrace a time bound, conditions-based path towards forming an independent palestinian state. these principles are time enforcing and time bound because no one will accept a endless process. palestinians need and deserve a clear and near horizon for political self-determination. conditions-based because while palestinians have a right to self-determination, with that right comes responsibility. no one should expect israel to accept a palestinian state led by hamas or other extremities and is militarized or has

militia that align with iran and rejects the right to exist and preaches rejectionist him, or unreformed becomes a failed state. israelis must decide what relationship they want with the palestinians. that cannot be a illusion that the palestinians will accept being nonpeopleout national rights. 7 million israeli jews and five million palestinians are rooted in the same landed and neither is going anywhere. israelis must abandon the myth they can carry out de facto annexation without causing consequence to israel's standing and its scouter. accepting a time bound approach to palestinian statehood will provide the political rise regional actors need to contribute the security forces and financial support to help new palestinian leaders govern, secure and rebuild gaza. some in israel argue accepting a

political horizon for the palestinians would award hamas for october 7. hamas tried to kill the idea of two states for decades, to help destroy the oslo accords with relentless suicide bombs and sought to strangle the arab peace treaty with attacks and far from awarding hamas, accepting a political horizon would be a rebuke to the anihilistic agenda of death and destruction. we sincerely hope the parties will make the tough decisions going forward. and yet the unimpeachable reality is up to this point, they've either failed to make these difficult decisions or acted in ways that put a deal to long term peace further from reach. israel's government is systematically underrailed the capacity and legitimacy to the only viable palestinian

authority. consider funding. israel continues to hold back p.a. tax revenues it collects on behalf of the palestinians. funds that belong to the palestinians and the p.a. needs to pay people who provide essential services like health care and security on the west bank which is vital to israel own security. this past week it led to unlocking hundreds of millions in p.a. revenues, a first step but these funds shouldn't have been held in the first place and israel continues to hold half a billion in tax revenues the p.a. urgently needs and the palestinians are entitled to. in the west bank israel is nationalizing land at a faster clip than any time in the past decade while turning a blind eye to unprecedented growth in the out posts and attacks by civilians have reached record levels. we've long made the point to the israeli government hamas can't

be defeated by a military campaign alone without a clear alternative, a post conflict plan, an incredible political rising of the palestinians, hamas, or something just as important and dangerous will grow back. that's what's happened in northern gaza. every time israel completes its operations, hamas reemerges because there's nothing to fill the void. we think hamas gathered as many new militants it has lost and is a recipe for enduring resurgencey and per peach you'll war. the longer the war goes on the worse the humanitarian situation gets in gaza. israel faces circumstances in gaza. the civilian population trapped there with hamas hiding in and under homes, hospitals, schools and mosques. indeed, hamas cynically

weaponized the suffering. in a message of hamas' military leader at the time, sinwar called the death of palestinian civilians, and i quote, necessary sacrifices and said, the more palestinians that were killed, the more hamas would benefit. these profound challenges notwithstanding, israel's efforts have fallen far short of meeting the colossal scale in gaza. we've said publicly and privately there are steps israel could take to transform the humanitarian situation in gaza and ensure critical aid reaches all palestinians in need. those include restarting full commercial goods and undertaking pauses in military operations as it did during the successful polio vaccination campaign and securing civic order with the flow of aid to storage and distribution sites. and suffering civilians in gaza is a tragedy in its own right and isolated israel

internationally and impaired the hard earned strides to developing relationships in the region. the longer the humanitarian crisis goes on, the more arab countries that recently normalized relations with israel will face pressure from their populations to walk away. and the greater the risk that israel's long-standing peace accords with jordan and egypt will collapse. the ballast that these partnerships provide for israel in the region are easy to take for granted, especially for generations that only know a world where the nations are at peace. but their rupture would unleash even greater instability and be incredibly hard to repair. remaining bogged down in gaza will hurt israel economically and already foreign investment in israel's credit rating have taken real hits. standard mobilization of reservists are undermining tens of thousands in businesses and private sector probability. for its part the palestinian

authority failed to take over reforms, like reigning corruption and bureaucracy, further eroding support among palestinians. the p.a.'s refusal to unequivocally condemn hamas in the killings october 7 only entrenched out among israelis the two communities can ever live side by side in peace. as have the p.a.'s payment to terrorists and the anti-semitic remarks of its leader. many in the region and beyond have also been unwilling to publicly condemn hamas. amides the condemnation of israel the silence of hamas is devining. where was sustain in united demand for hamas to put down arms and release hostages and where was the demand to put down materials. where was it for the heinous practice of remaining hidden among civilians. if countries around the world applied the collective pressure, hamas' leaders might have been

forced to make different decisions many months ago and massive suffering might have been averted. hamas especially has often chosen to sit back and wait, believing that the more time passed, the more palestinians in gaza suffered, the greater the chances iran, hezbollah and others would feel to attack israel and spark a war and the more international pressure would mount on israel to end its military operation and the greater the likelihood of a rift open between israel and the united states. for its part israel pursued the military campaign past the point of destroying hamas' military capacity and killing the leaders responsible for october 7. convinced that unrelenting military pressure is required to get hamas to accept a cease-fire and hostage deal on israel's terms and israel held firm to the belief any deviation from the intensive military effort would be interpreted by hamas as a sign of weakness or declining will.

some have questioned whether a different policy and approach would have changed this dynamic, whether we put too much pressure on hamas and israel or not enough. we've debated in the state department where we benefited from a range of different views. some believe by privately and publicly seeking to restrain israel's operations have held them back from inflicting greater damage on hamas or hezbollah or other adversaries. others think we enabled israel to purr so campaign that was disproportionate and self-defeating and not to the u.s. interest. it's crucial to answer questions like these which will be studied with years to come. i wish we come stand here today and tell you we got every decision right. i cannot. i wish i could tell you that

leaders in the region always put their people's interests ahead of their own interests. they did not. but i can tell you this, first, we continue to believe the best way to create a stable and secure and prosperous middle east and deal a blow to hamas and hezbollah and the entire so-called axis of resistance is through forging a more integrated region and the key to achieveing that is now more than ever is ending the conflict that realizes the strong aspirations for palestinians and israelis to leave in pes this states of their own. as much influence the united states wields in the middle east we can't dictate outcomes. in the end whether they take the past to greater integration will ultimately come down not to us but the decisions of its leaders and decisions of its people. finally, we stand here today

with a historic window of opportunity still open. while seizing it cannot bring back the innocent palestinian lives lost but will break the violence and bloodshed and we must not squander this chance. israel's most deep rooted desire from its founding has been to be accepted and treated like a normal state in the region and the world with all the rights and responsibilities that implies. at the same time, in israeli hearts and minds lies the conviction that past efforts of peace have been met with rejection and violent resistance and greater insecurity with camp david leading to the second intifada and the unilateral withdrawals leading to hezbollah and hamas. in the wake of october 7, convincing israelis otherwise will be a major and necessary undertaking. the prospect of normalization between israel and saudi arabia

represents the best opportunity to achieve the long sought goal of israel's greater integration in the region and also is the best incentive to get the parties to make tough decisions necessary to realize the aspirations of israelis and palestinians and cut the knot that's held back process from this point. much of the heavy lifting for normalization is complete including negotiations on complex saudi elements of an agreement. these elements include the strategic alliance agreement that establishes saudi arabia as a treaty ally of the united states. a defense cooperation agreement that enhances military coordination and builds integrated capabilities. an energy agreement that include s nuclear civil operation and a agreement for investment. for both sides, october 7 rated the stakes of the normalization deal. for saudi arabia, advancing efforts to realize palestinian

self-determination was always a key component but now the need to end the war in gaza and for a incredible road to palestinian statehood is all the more urgent for riyadh, for israel, october 7 and its aftermath have underscored a more integrated region and security arc invested threats to security and isolated sentiments. that is exactly what they because in april and again in october again with u.s. leadership, partners came beyond in a unprecedented way to defend the unprecedented missile attacks and you see what the world can do to put iran's nuclear program back in a box and ensure tehran never has a nuclear weapon. in 2021, a team of documentary filmmakers traveled around gaza asking children a simple question, what is your dream? many of the kids they interviewed looked to be 5 or 6 years old, about the same age as

my own kids. a little girl dreamed of becoming a doctor. why the interviewer asked? to treat people in war, she said. a boy dreamed of becoming a pilot so that he could fly people out of the place where they were so they could see the world, so they could be happy. a girl dreamed of being an engineer so she can help rebuild homes that had been destroyed. a boy said his dream was to see the country under my hands develop into a beautiful place. i know israeli girls and boys have very similar dreams, they dream of no longer saying goodbye to older siblings and parents going to war, of not spending nights in bomb shelters or getting under school bus attacked by terrorists. they dream of returning to homes they fled, of making destroyed communities beautiful again. another path is possible. weaver seen it, a path towards

greater integration and opportunity towards peace with lasting security. i believe because of the foundations we've put in place before and after october 7, that path is still open. and i believe if leaders make the difficult decision to walk that day, they'll not only have america by their side but a power no adversary can catch. generations of young people determined to reject the idea that conflict is inevitable and brave enough to embrace peaceful co-existence. i thank you very much for listening. applause [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2024]

>> so secretary blinken, thank you. that was an important speech. and i think it will be remembered as such. looking at everything from the future of gaza to the entire future of the middle east and a path, so we don't have much time but want to ask you a couple questions that deals with what's in that speech. first of all, on the issue of gaza, there were reports this morning that hamas had accepted the cease-fire. i wonder if you can comment on that. and in your comment, your conversations with middle eastern leaders, do you feel the middle east, and particularly the wealthier parts of the middle east, are willing to step in to gaza if they don't get a firm commitment to what you've just called for which is a two-state solution from president netanyahu? sect blinken: on the agreement, i said it's right on the brink

and closer than it's ever been before. but right now as we sit here, we await final word from hamas on its acceptance. and until we get that word, we'll remain on the brink. that could come any time, could come in the hours ahead or the days ahead. that's what we're looking for. what we've done over the last weeks and especially over the last days has put it right there and the deal is there. it's ready to be fully and finally accepted and ready to be implemented but right now we've got to wait to get a final word from hamas. in terms of what other countries would do. look, we've been talking with partners around the region and beyond for many months, as i said, to make sure when we were prepared when we finally got a cease-fire. what's clear, is of course there's an ongoing determination to do whatever countries can for the humanitarian needs of palestinians caught in this

horrific crossfire hamas is making, in terms of actually investing in the future of gaza and its reconstruction, insecurity, countries will be rereluctant, absent some clear political horizon. because in their view, and it's a view i share, be a sent that, they'll be investing in something that only will end up right back where it is now at some point in the future. so i think there's a very strong and widely held belief in the region and beyond that dealing with the threat posed by hamas militarily may be necessary but it's insufficient. and absent a political dimension, what we're looking at ultimately is an enduring insurgency that will plead and drain israel and a perpetual war. so that is something essential to partners throughout the region. frederick: what you talked a bit in the speech was iran and the

pathway to the future that you're painting, a lot depends on which way does iran go. there's been all sorts of reports about discussions within the biden administration about potentially even striking nuclear sites in iran under certain conditions. can you talk a little bit about what you think the situation is with iran, how does one look at nuclear sites and what advice will you give those that succeed you in the trump administration? secretary blinken: president biden has been clear that iran won't acquire a nuclear weapon on his watch and it won't. we had a big part of iran's nuclear program in a box with the iran nuclear deal and was focused on iran and what that deal did was to ensure iran could not produce a nuclear weapon in less than a year's time so we would have plenty of time to see it if they break out

of the agreement and did that but unfortunately pulling out of the deal and not replacing it with anything, iran can produce the material for a nuclear weapon within a week or two. they don't have the weapon itself and is another part of the equation but is in a more dangerous place than it was when it was boxed in with a nuclear agreement. iran is looking at this and the incoming administration is looking at this. we'll have to see if there's actually an opportunity on on the nuclear side to get another deal. president trump at the time talked about getting a better, stronger deal from his perspective. ok. let's see. maybe there's an opportunity to to do just that. if "sportscenter's not top 10", there's a share determination to ensure iran never gets a nuclear weapon one way or the other. i happen to believe doing this pursuant to a clear, strong, verifiable agreement is the best way to have something that lasts but one way or another, there's a determination in the united states across political parties

iran not get a weapon. frederick: final question and then we need to let you get back to the important work of bringing this to a close if we can. the atlantic council is a place for dialogue and what some of us heard today was unfortunate. we're not a bunch of screamers and shouters, we're people who try to argue out what's the right will but doesn't surprise you or me this region stirs up emotions. this path to the future, and let's not forget where europe was up until 1945, before the european union and before nato and before all of that, you talked i think about normalization almost in that spirit. e have talked about a path of integration that

could create economic integration in the middle east like the european union and military integration and not nato necessarily but countries coming closer together. are we closer to that now, saudi normalization with israel, the abraham accords leading to something a little bit more far-reaching of the sort you talked about at the end of your speech or are we further away from things that happened the last couple years? secretary blinken: i think we're much closer to it and what we've done building on the abraham accords was to try to get to their ultimate realization which is normalization between saudi arabia and israel and a lot of work went into that, agreements between the united states and saudi arabia as well as saudi arabia and israel. as we sit here, it's ready to go. that could move forward tomorrow but requires two things, an end to the conflict in gaza and a

incredible pathway to a palestinian state. so israelis will have to decide if actually realize a foundational dream being integrated into the region, being treated like a normal country and benefiting from being part of a security architecture we saw in action when iran attacked israel not once but twice, whether that is worth also the decisions necessary to finally resolve their relationship with the palestinians as well as ending the conflict in gaza. that's a decision only they can make. of course as i described, especially given the history, especially given october 7, the realization of palestinian statehood which is a necessary imperative has to come with ironclad security guarantees with israel. but that's the choice. that's the choice. and i believe it's there. now, in this moment because societies are so traumatized,

israelis and the palestinians, it's incredibly hard to have that conversation. i recognize that and i spoke to it today not under the illusion that anyone would hear this and embrace it tomorrow but at least to set that foundation because that conversation has to happen. it will happen. and whether that's next week, next year, no a few years, we'll see p. but it has to happen and believe the work we've done and will hand off to the next administration has set a foundation not only for the conversation but to actually carry it forward. one of the things i believe strongly, fred, from my own experience over the last 30 years and looking at history is there's no such thing as a hereditary enemy, that we're not feted to conflict or animosity and even what seemed to be the most virulent and violent hatreds can go away and change.

these last four years, probably two of my closest partners, two of our closest partners have been germany and japan. not very long ago it was a very different world. we take that for granted. we shouldn't. we need to be reminded of that, motivated by that because it tells us that none of this is feted or predetermined. we have the capacity to change. we have the capacity to build peace, to find lasting security. but it takes will and hard decisions and risk and ultimately we can try to lay out the path but others have to walk it. we'll do everything we can to support them if they do that. frederick: thank you so much for that message and particularly that message at the atlantic council which was created and stands for the resolution of these sorts of conflicts and

moving into a far better place, and just as we worked on those issues for europe, we're working on those issues for the middle east as well. i ask everyone in the audience not just to join me in thanking secretary blanken for today and not only his work in the administration but really a lifetime of public service. thanks so much. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2024] >> i franklin franklin delano roosevelt. >> i harry s. truman do solemnly swear -- >> that i will faithfully execute -- >> the office of president of the united states. >> the office of president of the united states. >> and will to the best of my ability -- >> and will to the best of my ability -- >> preserve, protect, and defen- >> preserving, protect and defend -- >> the constitution of the united states. >> so help me god. >> congratulations, mr. president. >> watch c-span's all day

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