Jay Carney
From yesterday’s White House briefing by Obama spox Jay Carney. A lot of tapdancing. Note the refusal to denounce the covert assassination tactic, and the question at the end about the regular communication between Netanyahu and Obama, the latest conversation being a phone call yesterday.
Q Thank you, Jay. The administration yesterday condemned the assassination of the Iranian nuclear scientist unequivocally, and I’m wondering if the White House can say just as unequivocally that Israel had nothing to do with it.
MR. CARNEY: Well, obviously we don’t speak for any other country, Ben. We had nothing to do with it. This has been expressed by officials at a variety of levels of the U.S. government. And we condemn the violence in Iran, but we’re not going to — you should not take from this anything except that we’re not speaking for any other country when we make statements like that.
Q But the condemnation — I’m correct in saying the condemnation from the White House extends to anybody behind it, any party, any country?
MR. CARNEY: Well, the condemnation is pretty clear. It is condemnation in and of itself of the act of violence in Iran. But again, our statement about — in response to accusations that there was American involvement is categorical.
Q Okay. So you can’t say either way whether —
MR. CARNEY: Again, I won’t speak for any other country.
Q Did the President address the incident in his conversation with the Prime Minister?
MR. CARNEY: Well, I think we provided a readout to you — has that gone out? Yes — of the President’s call with Prime Minister Netanyahu. Part of their regular communications on bilateral and regional issues.
[Here’s that readout, also dated yesterday. Tells you nothing, reader:
[Today, as a part of their regular communication and cooperation on bilateral and regional issues, President Obama spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel. They reviewed the recent meetings between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators in Amman and the President reaffirmed his commitment to the goal of a comprehensive and lasting peace in the region. The two leaders also discussed recent Iran-related developments, including the international community’s efforts to hold Iran accountable for its failures to meet its international obligations. The President reiterated his unshakable commitment to Israel’s security, and the President and the Prime Minister promised to stay in touch in the coming weeks on these and other issues of mutual concern.]
The subjects were many, including the Middle East peace process, developments in the region, including in Iran. But I won’t get more specific than that….
Q I’m going to follow up on Iran. What is the stated U.S. policy when it comes to Iran’s attempt to gain this nuclear technology?
MR. CARNEY: The administration is committed to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Q So it’s fair to say that covert action would be on the table?
MR. CARNEY: Well, I’m not going to discuss those kinds of things from here. But we have a policy that’s focused on working with our international partners collectively and then, obviously, unilaterally to put pressure on Iran to abide by its international obligations, to come clean about its nuclear ambitions. We have provided numerous opportunities for the Iranian government to act on the international community’s invitation to get right by their obligations. And we will continue to take action to add pressure, increase their isolation until they make the right call.
Q But you can say definitively that it wouldn’t be the policy of the United States to covertly assassinate people?
MR. CARNEY: Well, look, I –
Q Or be involved in some sort of attempt like that.
MR. CARNEY: What we’ve said is that we deplore the violence, deplore the action —
Q This violence? Or the violence of all of the assassinations —
MR. CARNEY: Well, it is — it’s a matter of U.S. policy in terms of the kind of action that you talk about, so I’m not about to revise that from here. This comes up in relation to a specific incident that we have made clear that we had nothing to do with. We’ve rejected those accusations. We are engaged in an effort to try to pressure Iran to live up to its obligations, to give up its nuclear ambitions — nuclear weapons ambitions. And we will continue to engage in that effort.
Q How concerned are you about retaliation? Is the U.S. government concerned about retaliation?
MR. CARNEY: Well, I think we’ve been categorical and clear about the fact that we were not involved in the death of this individual. Our concern about Iranian behavior is ever present. And we are very vigilant and mindful of various threats that can be — that are made, whether they involve the Straits of Hormuz or other areas or issues. So — but I don’t have a specific level of concern to convey to you.
Q If Iran decides to retaliate on Israel in a military way, U.S. response would be what?
MR. CARNEY: Well, we are absolutely committed to Israel’s security, as we made clear again today in our readout of the President’s phone conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu. But I’m not going to speculate about what we might do if some action were taken by another country.
Q Was there any concern, by the way, of making that readout public, because it might feed the conspiracy theorists in Iran?
MR. CARNEY: Look, I don’t think there’s any secret to the fact that we have an important and ongoing relationship with Israel. We have many important issues to discuss with the Israeli government. The President has many important matters to raise with Prime Minister Netanyahu and vice versa. So that’s — those conversations are regular and ongoing.
Seems to be saying that, no matter what Israel does, the U.S. will still be absolutely committed to its security.