1 00:00:01,159 --> 00:00:03,381 Good afternoon , ladies and gentlemen . 2 00:00:03,381 --> 00:00:05,326 Thank you very much for being here 3 00:00:05,326 --> 00:00:07,492 today . It is my pleasure to introduce 4 00:00:07,492 --> 00:00:09,715 Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin the 5 00:00:09,715 --> 00:00:11,659 third , the secretary will deliver 6 00:00:11,659 --> 00:00:13,715 opening remarks and then has time to 7 00:00:13,715 --> 00:00:15,937 take a few questions . Please note that 8 00:00:15,937 --> 00:00:17,937 I will moderate those questions and 9 00:00:17,937 --> 00:00:20,103 call on our journalists and due to our 10 00:00:20,103 --> 00:00:20,100 schedule today , I would ask you to 11 00:00:20,110 --> 00:00:21,943 please limit your follow ups and 12 00:00:21,943 --> 00:00:24,166 appreciate your assistance with this uh 13 00:00:24,166 --> 00:00:26,221 with that Mr Secretary over to you , 14 00:00:26,221 --> 00:00:29,709 sir . Thanks Frederick . Good afternoon , 15 00:00:29,719 --> 00:00:31,830 everyone . We've had a great few days 16 00:00:31,830 --> 00:00:34,509 of discussion with my fellow Ministers 17 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,520 of Defense . But before I get to that , 18 00:00:37,529 --> 00:00:40,650 let me add a few words about the 19 00:00:40,659 --> 00:00:44,229 terrible situation in Israel . We are 20 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:46,639 appalled by the emerging scope of the 21 00:00:46,650 --> 00:00:49,680 atrocities committed by the terrorists 22 00:00:49,689 --> 00:00:52,680 of Hamas . Our hearts are with all 23 00:00:52,689 --> 00:00:55,959 those who whose loved ones were 24 00:00:55,970 --> 00:00:59,860 murdered or wounded or taken hostage . 25 00:01:01,159 --> 00:01:03,540 No country would live with the 26 00:01:03,549 --> 00:01:06,620 wholesale killing and kidnapping of 27 00:01:06,629 --> 00:01:10,010 innocent people including the very old 28 00:01:10,019 --> 00:01:13,449 and the very young . Yesterday , I 29 00:01:13,459 --> 00:01:15,519 mentioned the changes to our force 30 00:01:15,529 --> 00:01:17,790 posture to reinforce deterrence in the 31 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:20,779 region . And I want to underscore that 32 00:01:20,790 --> 00:01:23,480 message , nobody 33 00:01:24,639 --> 00:01:26,695 should try to take advantage of this 34 00:01:26,699 --> 00:01:30,239 vile Hamas assault to cause more 35 00:01:30,250 --> 00:01:32,440 bloodshed or instability . 36 00:01:34,169 --> 00:01:38,099 Our support for Israel is rock solid . 37 00:01:39,300 --> 00:01:41,550 We're working urgently to get Israel 38 00:01:41,559 --> 00:01:43,392 what it needs to defend itself , 39 00:01:43,392 --> 00:01:46,269 including munitions and iron , iron 40 00:01:46,279 --> 00:01:49,400 dome interceptors , interceptors . And 41 00:01:49,410 --> 00:01:51,699 we will do so even as we continue to 42 00:01:51,709 --> 00:01:54,790 support the people of Ukraine as they 43 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,510 fight against Russian aggression , but 44 00:01:58,519 --> 00:02:02,139 make no mistake , we can and will stand 45 00:02:02,150 --> 00:02:05,099 by Israel . even as we stand by Ukraine , 46 00:02:06,620 --> 00:02:09,029 United States can walk and chew gum at 47 00:02:09,039 --> 00:02:12,360 the same time . So let me turn to the 48 00:02:12,369 --> 00:02:15,000 agenda of this defense ministerial , 49 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:18,607 especially in challenging times . It's 50 00:02:18,607 --> 00:02:22,100 great to be back at NATO . Let me 51 00:02:22,110 --> 00:02:24,940 thank uh Secretary General Stoltenberg 52 00:02:24,949 --> 00:02:26,838 for bringing up , bringing us all 53 00:02:26,838 --> 00:02:28,940 together today and for all of his 54 00:02:28,949 --> 00:02:31,940 leadership . Now , this was our first 55 00:02:31,949 --> 00:02:34,116 meeting of defense ministers since the 56 00:02:34,116 --> 00:02:37,789 Vilnius Summit in July . Our leaders 57 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,240 made historic decisions at Vilnius to 58 00:02:40,250 --> 00:02:43,399 enhance nato's deterrence and defense . 59 00:02:44,389 --> 00:02:46,270 And we also had the privilege of 60 00:02:46,279 --> 00:02:50,279 welcoming Finland which joined a NATO 61 00:02:50,289 --> 00:02:52,779 summit for the first time as an ally . 62 00:02:54,889 --> 00:02:56,800 Let me urge all of our allies to 63 00:02:56,809 --> 00:02:59,669 support the immediate accession 64 00:02:59,679 --> 00:03:03,520 accession of Sweden , which is both a 65 00:03:03,529 --> 00:03:06,139 proud democracy and a highly capable 66 00:03:06,149 --> 00:03:09,339 defense partner . Villius was a 67 00:03:09,350 --> 00:03:11,850 watershed for nato's collective 68 00:03:11,860 --> 00:03:15,270 deterrence and defense . Our leaders 69 00:03:15,279 --> 00:03:17,979 endorse nato's new new family of 70 00:03:17,990 --> 00:03:20,839 regional defense plans and that will 71 00:03:20,850 --> 00:03:23,250 significantly improve our ability to 72 00:03:23,259 --> 00:03:26,440 deter and defend against any threat . 73 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,550 We also established a new multinational 74 00:03:30,559 --> 00:03:33,809 and multi domain allied Reaction Force . 75 00:03:35,059 --> 00:03:36,892 This new force will provide more 76 00:03:36,892 --> 00:03:39,589 response options to threats and crises 77 00:03:39,970 --> 00:03:43,809 across all domains . At Vilnius , 78 00:03:44,210 --> 00:03:47,240 our leaders also endorsed a new defense 79 00:03:47,250 --> 00:03:50,679 investment pledge and that pledge 80 00:03:50,690 --> 00:03:53,089 affirmed our shared commitment as 81 00:03:53,100 --> 00:03:56,779 allies to spend at least 2% of GDP on 82 00:03:56,789 --> 00:03:59,850 defense . Let me also 83 00:03:59,860 --> 00:04:03,449 underscore the words of at least 84 00:04:03,690 --> 00:04:07,410 2% . We urgently need to do 85 00:04:07,419 --> 00:04:09,475 more to fulfill the commitments that 86 00:04:09,475 --> 00:04:11,770 all of our leaders have made . And this 87 00:04:11,779 --> 00:04:14,440 investment will help us strengthen our 88 00:04:14,449 --> 00:04:16,790 defense , industrial bases and 89 00:04:16,799 --> 00:04:19,649 standardize critical munitions and 90 00:04:19,660 --> 00:04:21,529 improve NATO interoperability . 91 00:04:23,570 --> 00:04:26,410 Nato's new defense production action 92 00:04:26,420 --> 00:04:28,589 plan will guide this important work . 93 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:31,850 It will aggregate demand to meet our 94 00:04:31,859 --> 00:04:34,440 capability targets and encourage 95 00:04:34,450 --> 00:04:37,790 multinational co-operation and foster 96 00:04:37,799 --> 00:04:40,429 more agile procurement 97 00:04:41,410 --> 00:04:44,100 and enhance our transparency with 98 00:04:44,109 --> 00:04:47,559 industry . Finally , at 99 00:04:47,570 --> 00:04:50,470 Vilnius , we reaffirmed our enduring 100 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,000 commitment to a free and sovereign 101 00:04:54,010 --> 00:04:57,230 Ukraine . We established the NATO 102 00:04:57,250 --> 00:05:00,480 Ukraine Council . We agreed to develop 103 00:05:00,489 --> 00:05:02,769 the comprehensive assistance package 104 00:05:03,519 --> 00:05:06,279 into a multiyear program for critical 105 00:05:06,290 --> 00:05:10,179 nonlethal aid . We expanded nato's 106 00:05:10,190 --> 00:05:13,809 practical non lethal support for 107 00:05:13,820 --> 00:05:17,100 Ukraine including medical supplies and 108 00:05:17,109 --> 00:05:20,220 Mres . And that complements 109 00:05:20,670 --> 00:05:23,649 bilateral security assistance that the 110 00:05:23,660 --> 00:05:25,549 United States and other countries 111 00:05:25,549 --> 00:05:27,690 around the world have provided to 112 00:05:27,700 --> 00:05:31,399 Ukraine over the past 20 months . And I 113 00:05:31,410 --> 00:05:33,420 should say again that the Ukrainian 114 00:05:33,429 --> 00:05:35,940 forces continue to make steady progress 115 00:05:35,950 --> 00:05:38,850 in their counter offensive . So today , 116 00:05:38,859 --> 00:05:40,859 we discuss the work that we've done 117 00:05:40,859 --> 00:05:43,630 together since Vilnius to implement 118 00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:46,690 these important decisions and that 119 00:05:46,700 --> 00:05:49,380 included conversations on several key 120 00:05:49,390 --> 00:05:51,769 issues including deterrence and defense 121 00:05:52,269 --> 00:05:55,769 to support Ukraine and nato's ongoing 122 00:05:55,779 --> 00:05:59,299 operations in the Western Balkans and 123 00:05:59,309 --> 00:06:02,760 in Iraq . So it was a productive day 124 00:06:03,350 --> 00:06:05,950 and I am tremendously proud of all the 125 00:06:05,959 --> 00:06:09,950 progress that NATO has made . We've 126 00:06:09,959 --> 00:06:11,959 still got a lot more to do , but we 127 00:06:11,959 --> 00:06:14,410 will get it done together and we will 128 00:06:14,420 --> 00:06:17,470 live up to the commitments that we have , 129 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:19,869 we have made to ourselves and to each 130 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,859 other . Now , let me be clear , 131 00:06:24,179 --> 00:06:27,459 NATO is a defensive alliance and we 132 00:06:27,470 --> 00:06:29,690 will not be drawn into Putin's illegal 133 00:06:29,700 --> 00:06:32,890 war of choice , but we will stand up 134 00:06:32,899 --> 00:06:35,399 for Ukraine's right to defend itself . 135 00:06:36,220 --> 00:06:38,442 And we will continue to strengthen this 136 00:06:38,442 --> 00:06:42,019 alliance for the challenges to come and 137 00:06:42,029 --> 00:06:44,070 we will defend the sovereignty and 138 00:06:44,079 --> 00:06:48,019 territory of every NATO ally , 139 00:06:49,399 --> 00:06:52,000 America's commitment to that mission is 140 00:06:52,010 --> 00:06:55,859 ironclad and so is our commitment to 141 00:06:55,869 --> 00:06:58,899 article five . And one last thing 142 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,256 we're especially proud that we'll be 143 00:07:02,256 --> 00:07:04,459 hosting our allies next summer at the 144 00:07:04,470 --> 00:07:07,200 Washington summit and we're excited to 145 00:07:07,209 --> 00:07:09,399 come together to commemorate the 75th 146 00:07:09,410 --> 00:07:13,019 anniversary of this great alliance . So 147 00:07:13,029 --> 00:07:15,179 thanks again for being here and with 148 00:07:15,190 --> 00:07:17,301 that , I'll be happy to take a couple 149 00:07:17,301 --> 00:07:19,634 of questions . Thank you , Mr Secretary . 150 00:07:19,634 --> 00:07:21,801 Uh First question , we'll go to Gordon 151 00:07:21,801 --> 00:07:24,500 Newbold Wall Street Journal . I know 152 00:07:24,510 --> 00:07:26,454 you like multipart questions . I'm 153 00:07:26,454 --> 00:07:28,677 gonna make two different questions real 154 00:07:28,677 --> 00:07:31,200 quick . Um The first one is the crisis 155 00:07:31,209 --> 00:07:35,209 in Gaza has amounted to a moment of 156 00:07:35,220 --> 00:07:37,276 emotion for the Israelis and for the 157 00:07:37,276 --> 00:07:40,589 world . Um uh Prime Minister Netanyahu 158 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:44,480 referring to uh Hamas militants as dead 159 00:07:44,489 --> 00:07:46,649 men walking your own people referring 160 00:07:46,660 --> 00:07:49,570 to an isis moment into this emotion and 161 00:07:49,579 --> 00:07:52,049 in this conflict , uh the US is pouring 162 00:07:52,679 --> 00:07:55,429 munitions weaponry and other things . 163 00:07:55,630 --> 00:07:59,130 I'm wondering what assurances or what 164 00:07:59,140 --> 00:08:02,980 conditions even have you asked for 165 00:08:02,989 --> 00:08:05,600 from the Israelis to make sure that 166 00:08:05,609 --> 00:08:08,399 some of this weaponry , it's American 167 00:08:08,410 --> 00:08:11,350 weaponry is used discriminately and not 168 00:08:11,359 --> 00:08:13,630 indiscriminately and potentially 169 00:08:14,609 --> 00:08:17,500 killing civilian innocent civilians in 170 00:08:17,510 --> 00:08:19,677 Gaza . And then the second question is 171 00:08:19,677 --> 00:08:23,130 just , um , is ISR coverage part of the 172 00:08:23,140 --> 00:08:26,029 package of offerings . And I guess a 173 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,010 third one . Have you seen , have you 174 00:08:29,019 --> 00:08:32,179 seen any amassing of any Hezbollah 175 00:08:32,190 --> 00:08:34,301 forces along the border ? Thank you . 176 00:08:36,719 --> 00:08:40,299 Any massing of Hezbollah forces . Yeah . 177 00:08:41,330 --> 00:08:44,789 Um uh in terms of thanks Gordon for the 178 00:08:44,799 --> 00:08:47,359 questions , but uh even though there 179 00:08:47,369 --> 00:08:50,318 were like six of them , but uh in , in 180 00:08:50,328 --> 00:08:53,549 terms of uh conditions that we would 181 00:08:53,559 --> 00:08:57,400 place on the um security assistance 182 00:08:57,409 --> 00:09:00,020 that we're providing to uh Israel , 183 00:09:00,090 --> 00:09:02,690 we've not placed any conditions on uh 184 00:09:02,700 --> 00:09:04,969 on the provision of this equipment . 185 00:09:05,250 --> 00:09:07,306 This is a professional military , uh 186 00:09:07,306 --> 00:09:09,929 led by professional leadership and we 187 00:09:09,940 --> 00:09:13,330 would hope and expect that they would 188 00:09:13,340 --> 00:09:15,507 do the right things in the prosecution 189 00:09:15,507 --> 00:09:18,010 of their , of their campaign and , and 190 00:09:18,020 --> 00:09:21,030 we'll uh we will make sure that we will 191 00:09:21,039 --> 00:09:23,150 leave it to them to define what their 192 00:09:23,150 --> 00:09:25,317 operations are going to look like . Uh 193 00:09:25,317 --> 00:09:27,150 But again , we have no reason to 194 00:09:27,150 --> 00:09:29,317 believe that uh they would do anything 195 00:09:29,317 --> 00:09:32,849 different um in terms of um 196 00:09:34,210 --> 00:09:36,321 our provision , our assistance and uh 197 00:09:36,321 --> 00:09:38,154 intel intelligence assistance to 198 00:09:38,154 --> 00:09:41,380 Ukraine uh to excuse me , to Israel . 199 00:09:41,570 --> 00:09:45,059 Um We will 200 00:09:45,070 --> 00:09:48,700 support them in any way that we can and 201 00:09:48,710 --> 00:09:50,799 certainly intelligence is a part of 202 00:09:50,809 --> 00:09:53,880 that and I won't get into the specifics 203 00:09:53,890 --> 00:09:57,549 of what that means . ISR other types of 204 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:00,020 collection we've worked with the uh 205 00:10:00,030 --> 00:10:03,340 Israelis uh you know , over many , many 206 00:10:03,349 --> 00:10:05,900 years and uh those sharing uh 207 00:10:05,909 --> 00:10:08,049 mechanisms are there , those channels 208 00:10:08,059 --> 00:10:10,299 are there to , to share information . 209 00:10:10,619 --> 00:10:12,869 Uh And we will look to continue to do 210 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:16,489 that . So , um so I think I 211 00:10:16,500 --> 00:10:20,479 got Hezbollah . OK . 212 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:23,919 Uh We've not seen any massing of forces 213 00:10:23,929 --> 00:10:26,909 along the border . Uh And uh and again , 214 00:10:26,919 --> 00:10:29,280 this is something that uh you know , 215 00:10:29,289 --> 00:10:31,890 the Israelis are , are focused on . We 216 00:10:31,900 --> 00:10:35,080 are also looking for additional things 217 00:10:35,090 --> 00:10:37,034 that , that , that could widen the 218 00:10:37,034 --> 00:10:39,320 conflict here and hopefully we won't 219 00:10:39,330 --> 00:10:41,330 see those things , but uh we've not 220 00:10:41,330 --> 00:10:43,497 seen that to this point . So thank you 221 00:10:43,497 --> 00:10:45,441 very much . Uh Our next question , 222 00:10:45,441 --> 00:10:47,719 we'll go to Thomas Guha Frankfurt Gale . 223 00:10:47,719 --> 00:10:47,640 It , I 224 00:10:53,010 --> 00:10:56,169 thanks a lot , Zeitung , Mister 225 00:10:56,179 --> 00:10:58,235 Secretary . I also asked a couple of 226 00:10:58,235 --> 00:11:01,080 questions also related to Israel . The 227 00:11:01,090 --> 00:11:03,146 first one would be , have there been 228 00:11:03,146 --> 00:11:05,510 other allies besides the US and Germany 229 00:11:05,599 --> 00:11:08,020 that today pledged military support to 230 00:11:08,030 --> 00:11:11,030 Israel . And uh when it comes to this 231 00:11:11,039 --> 00:11:14,270 support in your assessment , what would 232 00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:17,789 be or could be the further needs of 233 00:11:17,799 --> 00:11:21,719 Israel if this conflict continues . Um 234 00:11:21,729 --> 00:11:23,951 And a third question , somewhat related 235 00:11:23,951 --> 00:11:27,010 to what my colleague asked , Secretary 236 00:11:27,020 --> 00:11:30,429 General Stoltenberg told us after the 237 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:33,440 meeting or he made an announcement 238 00:11:33,450 --> 00:11:35,672 after the meeting that allies have made 239 00:11:35,672 --> 00:11:38,340 clear , Israel has a right to defend 240 00:11:38,349 --> 00:11:41,359 itself . But with proportionality , 241 00:11:41,469 --> 00:11:45,400 could you please explain if you share 242 00:11:45,409 --> 00:11:48,520 this , this this 243 00:11:48,869 --> 00:11:51,409 statement with proportionality and what 244 00:11:51,419 --> 00:11:53,641 it actually entails in a situation like 245 00:11:53,641 --> 00:11:57,619 this ? Thank you . Yeah . So 246 00:11:57,979 --> 00:12:01,880 um as we um we briefed 247 00:12:01,890 --> 00:12:04,299 by Minister Gallant earlier today , uh 248 00:12:04,309 --> 00:12:07,429 what we heard from allies in the room 249 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:10,770 was uh unity among 250 00:12:11,169 --> 00:12:14,729 all of the allies uh in terms of strong 251 00:12:14,739 --> 00:12:17,700 support for Israel and unity in 252 00:12:17,710 --> 00:12:21,090 condemning the horrible actions of 253 00:12:21,099 --> 00:12:23,140 Hamas . Um 254 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:27,549 what the United States is doing . Uh 255 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:29,969 You've heard us talk about a number of 256 00:12:29,979 --> 00:12:32,530 times and that is we are , we're moving 257 00:12:32,539 --> 00:12:36,530 rapidly to provide uh Israel uh what uh 258 00:12:36,539 --> 00:12:39,789 what it needs to continue to protect 259 00:12:39,799 --> 00:12:43,289 its citizens and to protect its uh its 260 00:12:43,299 --> 00:12:46,190 territory . And uh you've already seen 261 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:48,489 the evidence of , of that happening and 262 00:12:48,500 --> 00:12:50,869 uh that will continue and we'll stay 263 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,080 engaged with uh with the Israeli 264 00:12:53,090 --> 00:12:56,000 leadership and make sure that uh you 265 00:12:56,010 --> 00:12:58,010 know , we're tracking along with uh 266 00:12:58,010 --> 00:13:00,288 with their needs as those needs change . 267 00:13:00,288 --> 00:13:03,159 And as is the case with any fight uh or , 268 00:13:03,169 --> 00:13:06,349 or any uh operation uh needs will 269 00:13:06,359 --> 00:13:09,289 change as uh as , as uh you know , 270 00:13:09,299 --> 00:13:11,520 things evolve there . So we anticipate 271 00:13:11,530 --> 00:13:13,363 that , you know , I've talked to 272 00:13:13,363 --> 00:13:15,530 Minister Gallant , uh just about every 273 00:13:15,530 --> 00:13:18,250 day since , uh since this began , we 274 00:13:18,260 --> 00:13:20,280 had a great relationship uh leading 275 00:13:20,289 --> 00:13:22,789 into this . Uh And that made it very 276 00:13:22,799 --> 00:13:25,599 easy for us to uh to connect and , uh , 277 00:13:25,609 --> 00:13:28,520 and exchange information in , uh in , 278 00:13:28,530 --> 00:13:31,239 in Frank and open ways . Uh So , uh 279 00:13:31,250 --> 00:13:33,528 we're gonna continue to do what , what , 280 00:13:33,659 --> 00:13:37,280 what's needed to uh uh to uh support 281 00:13:37,289 --> 00:13:39,229 them and we're going to do it as 282 00:13:39,239 --> 00:13:43,210 rapidly as possible in terms of needs 283 00:13:43,219 --> 00:13:46,789 for Israel going forward again . I go 284 00:13:46,799 --> 00:13:48,966 back to what I just said , this , this 285 00:13:48,966 --> 00:13:51,132 will evolve and , and those needs will 286 00:13:51,132 --> 00:13:54,070 emerge and we'll let uh Minister Galant 287 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:56,460 and the uh and , and the Israeli 288 00:13:56,469 --> 00:13:58,109 leadership define what those 289 00:13:58,119 --> 00:13:59,897 requirements are . We'll try to 290 00:13:59,897 --> 00:14:02,580 anticipate as best we can . Uh And , 291 00:14:02,590 --> 00:14:04,960 and I am sure that uh countries on a 292 00:14:04,969 --> 00:14:08,010 bilateral basis will engage uh Minister 293 00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:10,380 Gallant and uh and work with them and 294 00:14:10,390 --> 00:14:13,299 if they can provide uh assistance or 295 00:14:13,309 --> 00:14:15,420 resources and they , they will , they 296 00:14:15,420 --> 00:14:17,929 will do that . I would , I would agree 297 00:14:17,940 --> 00:14:20,500 with the Secretary General in that 298 00:14:22,900 --> 00:14:25,880 the Israelis have a right to protect 299 00:14:25,890 --> 00:14:28,750 their people . And uh and we would , we 300 00:14:28,760 --> 00:14:30,649 would expect that they were gonna 301 00:14:30,649 --> 00:14:32,871 remain focused on it . So , and I won't 302 00:14:32,871 --> 00:14:35,093 try to define proportionality for you . 303 00:14:35,093 --> 00:14:37,429 So thank you very much . Our next 304 00:14:37,440 --> 00:14:39,607 question will go to Will Dunlop agency 305 00:14:39,607 --> 00:14:43,210 F press , I'll give you two 306 00:14:43,219 --> 00:14:45,919 questions . Um Secretary Austin first , 307 00:14:45,929 --> 00:14:48,151 did the United States have any advanced 308 00:14:48,151 --> 00:14:50,318 warning or other indication that Hamas 309 00:14:50,318 --> 00:14:52,262 would attack Israel . And second , 310 00:14:52,262 --> 00:14:54,373 there have been contradictory reports 311 00:14:54,373 --> 00:14:56,429 about Iran's potential role . What's 312 00:14:56,429 --> 00:14:58,485 the latest US assessment on Tehran's 313 00:14:58,485 --> 00:14:58,359 involvement in or knowledge of the 314 00:14:58,369 --> 00:15:00,425 Hamas attack ? Thank you . Give me a 315 00:15:00,429 --> 00:15:02,485 second piece again . Um , there have 316 00:15:02,485 --> 00:15:04,739 been contradictory reports about Iran's 317 00:15:04,750 --> 00:15:06,861 potential role in the attacks . Uh If 318 00:15:06,861 --> 00:15:08,694 any , um , what is the latest US 319 00:15:08,694 --> 00:15:10,806 assessment on Tehran's involvement in 320 00:15:10,806 --> 00:15:12,417 or knowledge of the attack ? 321 00:15:15,270 --> 00:15:17,437 We'll take the second part first . And 322 00:15:17,437 --> 00:15:19,492 I think you heard us say yesterday , 323 00:15:19,492 --> 00:15:21,214 well , that we've not seen any 324 00:15:21,214 --> 00:15:24,450 indication that Iran was involved in 325 00:15:24,460 --> 00:15:27,950 the planning or the execution of this 326 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:30,016 attack . We've not seen any , any of 327 00:15:30,016 --> 00:15:31,904 those indications yet and this is 328 00:15:31,904 --> 00:15:34,016 something that we remain focused on . 329 00:15:34,016 --> 00:15:37,989 Uh And uh and of course , um you know , 330 00:15:38,900 --> 00:15:40,919 what we know at this point is that 331 00:15:40,929 --> 00:15:43,179 there are no indications that that was 332 00:15:43,190 --> 00:15:45,301 the case , but again , we will remain 333 00:15:45,301 --> 00:15:49,289 focused on this . Um We also know that 334 00:15:49,299 --> 00:15:52,049 Iran has a long track record of 335 00:15:52,059 --> 00:15:55,320 supporting Hamas . And so there's a , 336 00:15:55,330 --> 00:15:57,219 there's a relationship there that 337 00:15:57,219 --> 00:16:00,340 extends over the years , but , but in 338 00:16:00,349 --> 00:16:03,789 terms of their active 339 00:16:03,799 --> 00:16:06,750 participation in the planning and the 340 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:09,190 execution of this attack , we've not 341 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:11,390 seen any indications of that yet . So 342 00:16:12,380 --> 00:16:14,640 um in terms of uh 343 00:16:16,869 --> 00:16:20,750 early warning or our or our uh uh indic 344 00:16:20,780 --> 00:16:22,780 indications and warning that we may 345 00:16:22,780 --> 00:16:25,289 have had to uh that this was going to 346 00:16:25,299 --> 00:16:27,410 occur , of course , will , if we , if 347 00:16:27,410 --> 00:16:29,410 we had those indications , we would 348 00:16:29,410 --> 00:16:31,355 share them with our , with uh with 349 00:16:31,355 --> 00:16:33,577 Israel . Uh but uh to my knowledge , we 350 00:16:33,577 --> 00:16:37,429 did not see that . So we'll go 351 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,359 to Stuart Lau Politico Eu 352 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:43,927 from Political Mr Secretary , a couple 353 00:16:43,927 --> 00:16:45,760 of questions first regarding the 354 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:47,649 disruption of the undersea cables 355 00:16:47,649 --> 00:16:49,816 between Finland and Estonia . Is there 356 00:16:49,816 --> 00:16:51,704 any indication that Russia may be 357 00:16:51,704 --> 00:16:53,871 behind this ? And what possible action 358 00:16:53,871 --> 00:16:55,927 should NASO consider if state actors 359 00:16:55,927 --> 00:16:58,149 are behind it ? And the second question 360 00:16:58,149 --> 00:17:00,719 about military commitment to Europe , 361 00:17:00,729 --> 00:17:02,729 is there any indication that future 362 00:17:02,729 --> 00:17:05,359 delivery of iron dome to Israel might 363 00:17:05,489 --> 00:17:07,579 come at a cost of existing security 364 00:17:07,589 --> 00:17:09,533 commitments to Europe , especially 365 00:17:09,533 --> 00:17:10,700 Poland ? Thank you . 366 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:17,819 Um First , I am certainly aware of the 367 00:17:17,829 --> 00:17:20,459 reports of the um 368 00:17:22,619 --> 00:17:26,280 attacks on the um the 369 00:17:26,290 --> 00:17:28,579 infrastructure undersea infrastructure 370 00:17:28,589 --> 00:17:30,920 there . And uh and I have been in touch 371 00:17:30,930 --> 00:17:33,839 with uh my colleagues uh in Finland and , 372 00:17:33,849 --> 00:17:36,890 and uh Estonia , they are investigating 373 00:17:36,900 --> 00:17:38,920 this and so because they are 374 00:17:38,930 --> 00:17:41,359 investigating this , I won't speculate 375 00:17:41,369 --> 00:17:43,591 on who may have been involved . I think 376 00:17:43,591 --> 00:17:45,758 we have the , the right thing to do is 377 00:17:45,758 --> 00:17:47,480 to wait for the results of the 378 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:49,702 investigation . I will tell you that uh 379 00:17:49,702 --> 00:17:51,591 uh uh we have offered our help to 380 00:17:51,591 --> 00:17:53,813 Finland , anything that they need to uh 381 00:17:53,813 --> 00:17:56,036 to conduct this investigation . Uh We , 382 00:17:56,036 --> 00:17:59,640 we stand ready to provide um in terms 383 00:17:59,650 --> 00:18:01,594 of iron . Do you know what's being 384 00:18:01,594 --> 00:18:03,428 provided to Israel and will that 385 00:18:03,428 --> 00:18:05,372 disadvantage uh other countries in 386 00:18:05,372 --> 00:18:07,594 Europe ? I certainly don't think so . I 387 00:18:07,594 --> 00:18:11,119 think Uh again , um for our focus is to 388 00:18:11,130 --> 00:18:13,186 make sure that we get Israel what it 389 00:18:13,186 --> 00:18:15,241 needs in order to protect itself and 390 00:18:15,241 --> 00:18:17,019 protect its uh its uh sovereign 391 00:18:17,019 --> 00:18:19,890 territory . So , um and I won't 392 00:18:19,900 --> 00:18:21,956 speculate on , you know , one way or 393 00:18:21,956 --> 00:18:24,180 the other on uh you know , but , but I 394 00:18:24,189 --> 00:18:26,589 will tell you that Poland is , uh you 395 00:18:26,599 --> 00:18:28,710 know , has a lot of capability and as 396 00:18:28,710 --> 00:18:31,189 you , as you may know , I am in contact 397 00:18:31,199 --> 00:18:33,160 with my Polish counterpart uh on a 398 00:18:33,170 --> 00:18:35,550 routine basis . Uh And , and they have 399 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,670 played a key role in providing uh 400 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:41,750 security assistance uh to , to Ukraine . 401 00:18:42,010 --> 00:18:45,750 So um uh I think uh again , my 402 00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:48,839 focus is gonna continue to be uh to 403 00:18:48,849 --> 00:18:52,209 support Ukraine and to provide support 404 00:18:52,219 --> 00:18:56,050 to Israel as rapidly and as effectively 405 00:18:56,060 --> 00:18:58,089 as we can . And so I'll leave it at 406 00:18:58,099 --> 00:19:00,500 that ladies and gentlemen , that is all 407 00:19:00,510 --> 00:19:02,399 the time we have for today . This 408 00:19:02,399 --> 00:19:04,566 concludes the press conference . Thank 409 00:19:04,566 --> 00:19:06,599 you very much for coming . I'll get 410 00:19:06,609 --> 00:19:07,469 that . Yeah , you go .