Department Press Briefing – July 16, 2025 – United States Department of State

2:11 p.m. EDT

MS BRUCE: It’s funny, it feels the same on a Wednesday. (Laughter.) It’s a Wednesday. Thank you, everyone.

We – yes, we – the President, of course, was very busy yesterday. I was at an event and we didn’t want to conflict with the President and his terrific event in Pittsburgh. So thank you for your understanding, but here we are today. We will also brief tomorrow as well. Thank you for being here.

Of course I do have a few comments as we get settled in here. People are shaking hands. That’s a very good sign. I prefer hands being shaken as opposed to throats being grabbed. (Laughter.) Hi, you guys. Hi. I will note that your colleague, Nadia, who is normally here, is not because she was at the White House asking the President questions. So I’m a little jealous, but it’s all right. I will rib her about that tomorrow. I hope she appears tomorrow. So thank you, everyone.

This week the United States is delivering results that uphold our values, protect our interests, and reinforce American leadership on the global stage. Over the weekend, in solidarity with the Cuban people on the anniversary of the July 11th, 2021 protests, Secretary Rubio designated regime figurehead Miguel Díaz-Canel and two other senior officials under Section 7031(c) for gross human rights violations. This action builds on existing visa restrictions targeting Cuban judicial and prison officials involved in the unjust detention and torture of protestors. In addition, we are cutting off financial lifelines to the regime by updating the Cuba Restricted List and Cuba Prohibited Accommodations List to include 11 regime-linked hotels.

This week, also, President Trump, joined by Secretary Rubio, met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office. The President reiterated his desire to end the bloodshed in Ukraine and expressed disappointment in Valdimir Putin’s continued refusal to do so. As part of this effort, President Trump announced the United States will sell advanced U.S. weapons to NATO Allies who may choose to send them to other countries.

Two months after President Trump traveled to the Middle East, countries are still coming to us to build off the momentum that his trip generated. Bahrain’s crown prince is visiting Washington today, as many of you would have noticed, where he announced Bahrain’s intention to invest over 17 billion – that’s with a b – in the United States. The deal constitutes a major U.S. commercial win that could support up to 30,000 American jobs.

Regarding the situation in Syria, we heard the Secretary state during today’s meeting in the Oval Office, quote, “[It’s] complicated. Obviously, these are historic, [long-term] rivalries between different groups in the southwest of Syria – Bedouins, the Druze community – and it led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side. So we’ve been engaged with them all morning long and all night long [and] with both sides, and we think we’re on our way towards a real de-escalation and then hopefully get back on track in helping Syria build a country and [having] a situation there in the Middle East [that is] far more stable. So in the next few hours, we hope to see some real progress to end what you’ve been seeing over the last [few] hours.”

Turning to our transatlantic partnerships, Secretary Rubio met yesterday with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to coordinate next steps on the Israeli-Iran ceasefire, reaffirm our joint resolve on Ukraine, and address shared challenges posed by China and developments in Latin America.

In the Western Hemisphere, Deputy Secretary Christopher Landau met Monday with Haitian Prime Minister Fils-Aimé – Fils-Aimé to discuss the urgent need to restore security, stability, and constitutional order in Haiti. He underscored continued U.S. support for the Multinational Security Support mission.

Looking to the Indo-Pacific, President Trump has announced the composition of the presidential delegation that is traveling to the World Expo in Osaka, Japan on U.S. National Day, which is tomorrow, Thursday^[1], July 19th, 2025. The delegation is led by Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and includes Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, a busy man.

Since the Expo opened on April 13th, nearly 1 million guests have visited the USA Pavilion and we expect over 2 million visitors over the duration of the Expo. The USA Pavilion serves a unique convening place for American companies to connect with potential customers and drive American prosperity. This event, along with our recent engagements with the Quad and ASEAN, reaffirms that U.S. leadership in the Indo-Pacific is enduring, strategic, and producing real results.

So that is my opening here on this Wednesday. I will now happily, most of the time, take your questions.

Daphne.

QUESTION: Thank you. Just to follow up on what the Secretary said earlier on Syria.

MS BRUCE: Yes.

QUESTION: What is it that the U.S. is hoping to see in the next few hours?

MS BRUCE: Well, certainly an end to the conflict, an end to the nature of the violence that is happening, the Israel – an Israeli withdrawal, a Syrian Government withdrawal from the area as well.

QUESTION: And has the U.S. asked Israel to halt strikes on Syria?

MS BRUCE: I cannot speak to specific conversations or the exchanges diplomatically, but I can say that – let me see, there’s a few things that might give us a sense here of what’s happening. We are calling on the Syrian Government to in fact withdraw their military in order to enable all sides to de-escalate and find a path forward. And I think that that’s obviously the goal because of the nature of what’s happened and the Secretary’s phrasing that this was a misunderstanding. He’s optimistic that this can be achieved.

QUESTION: So you said you’re looking for an Israeli withdrawal and a Syrian Government withdrawal from the area. Can you be more explicit about where your –

MS BRUCE: No, I can’t. I can’t. Right?

All right. Yes, Gillian.

QUESTION: So given what you just laid out, it seems like it’s safe to say that there is daylight between the President and Secretary Rubio and the Israelis.

MS BRUCE: Well, I wouldn’t say that at all. No. But very good – good try. No, I think that there’s – I think it’s very specific what we’ve been asking. We’ve been obviously speaking with all the parties involved. We are involved and we know the parties involved, and the President and the Secretary have noted that they expect de-escalation as soon as possible, that this was classically a misunderstanding between Israel and Syria, and long-term tribal issues also in the area. But our best are on it, and that includes, of course, the leaders of the country.

QUESTION: Can you comment on the food aid that is set to expire – the 500 million, billion tons or whatever it is that is set to expire that was slated to head to help stave off, I guess, starvation in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

MS BRUCE: What I can say without the particular specifics is that we have kind of a standard procedure that if food is expired, we – it will be destroyed. So I – let’s get more information on that. I know that there was a conversation about the nature of food and whether or not it’s – if it is expired and if that’s the kind – we know we take action with that when it comes to the procedure. So we’ll get an answer back for you on that.

All right. Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Yes, hi. Thanks, Tammy. Back on Syria, could you give us a sense of whom the Secretary has reached out to both on the Syrian side and on the Israeli side?

MS BRUCE: No.

QUESTION: And —

MS BRUCE: Sorry. That’s just a quick answer. No.

QUESTION: All right. And second, can you give us some clarity as to what he meant exactly by “a misunderstanding” between Israel and Syria? I mean, I know he said it was complicated, so I —

MS BRUCE: Yes, it’s complicated.

QUESTION: — don’t expect a short answer. But —

MS BRUCE: Well, yes.

QUESTION: What did he mean by “a misunderstanding?”

MS BRUCE: I won’t – I won’t characterize the – his statement or remarks. I would expect more comments to come from the President, perhaps, and certainly the Secretary. They are – again, have been, as we have in general, involved in de-escalating this, which is the key. But within his experience, he felt that that word was appropriate.

Yes. All right. Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MS BRUCE: That’s where Nadia should be sitting, though, I believe. You’d better tell her.

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MS BRUCE: What’s your name, sir?

QUESTION: Joseph.

MS BRUCE: Joseph. Hi there. Welcome aboard.

QUESTION: Thank you. I wanted to ask on Gaza, if you have any updates to provide on ceasefire talks or progress on that.

MS BRUCE: Yes, we do. We – there’s still negotiations. Not going to get into the details of what those are. And of course, last week you’ll recall that Secretary Rubio said that we are hopeful – he says, “I mean, in the end, we’re hoping they’ll move to proximity talks.” So obviously it’s a negotiating process that is underway and ongoing. He said, “It appears that generally the terms have been agreed to, but obviously now you need to have talks about [how to] implement those terms.” He noted – I should say now President Trump has noted that, “We want to have a ceasefire.” He’s noted that many times. “We [have] to have peace. We want to get the hostages back,” and warned Hamas that, “It will only get worse” if they don’t agree to this arrangement.

All right.

QUESTION: And then on Lebanon —

MS BRUCE: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: — Ambassador Barrack was recently there, and receiving a response to proposals or roadmaps for that country to disarm Hizballah and implement certain reforms. Can you talk about any of the – I don’t know what you want to call them – demands or asks that he made of the Lebanese Government, specifically as it pertains to Hizballah’s weapons? Was there a timeline given? Has he warned that U.S. support could be withdrawn or reduced if the Lebanese Government doesn’t make any progress?

MS BRUCE: Well, as you’ll learn, if we see – we’ll see you hopefully on occasion here – is that I won’t speak about the nature of the specifics of what happens in a negotiation, what is asked for, what those conversations are. We do know, of course, that the ambassador – and as, of course, our special envoy also has – has been very open about the fact that – and this was last week – that he was happy with the nature of the conversations and the commitment to disarm Hizballah.

I can also note on the same sort of issue, when it comes to money that supports Hizballah, the ambassador – Ambassador Barrack – stated that stopping the flow of Hizballah’s finances, including through Al-Qard Al-Hassan, is a USA priority. We welcome Lebanon’s recent efforts in that regard as well as a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done. The Lebanese Government must abandon the pretense that Al-Qard Al-Hassan is an NGO under Lebanese law rather than what it is, which is a financial institution used by Hizballah to subvert international sanctions regimes and undermine Lebanon’s formal economy. So I can have that for you.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Thank you very much. Tammy, there’s a Qatari delegation —

MS BRUCE: We’ll take your question, but then I’ll come right back to you. Go ahead, sir.

QUESTION: Okay.

MS BRUCE: I know, you’re, like, right – really close to each other. (Laughter.) All right, go ahead.

QUESTION: There’s a Qatari delegation visiting the White House tomorrow, and is the Secretary going to be holding separate talks with members of the delegation? And also, what role do you think the Qataris can play in helping secure a ceasefire?

MS BRUCE: Well, I won’t discuss what the Secretary’s plans are at this point or who he’ll be meeting with. We do know, of course, Qatar has been helpful in the past as a partner, but I won’t go into the details of what we can expect in that regard.

All right. And now, yes, sir.

QUESTION: Thank you. The administration has done a lot of work with the new government in Syria to try and nurture relations, to try and embed stability there – lifting sanctions and delisting HTS, and things like that.

MS BRUCE: Yeah.

QUESTION: How does – how do these Israeli strikes, which seem to amount to a very sharp escalation – extremely dramatic and devastating pictures particularly from Damascus of the impact of the bombings – how does that affect your attempt to build that relationship with the new Syrian Government?

MS BRUCE: Well, of course, we know and we’ve made a tremendous commitment there to stabilize Syria, and our special envoy Ambassador Barrack is leading that. And of course, we know of that escalation clearly. We’ve been involved in addressing it. And I think that what is clear still comes from the Secretary’s remarks regarding the issue of it being a miscommunication essentially, and I think that’s significantly different than an escalation. But I would wait for us to hear from the Secretary and the President as today unfolds, but neither of them had indicated that this seemed to be a dynamic that indicated something that could not be resolved. Their comments certainly indicated that they expected it to be, and hoped it to be, and indicated even again for – within the next few hours could be facilitated. Also about that though, we do understand that the Israeli forces intervened to protect the Druze. So that is something we can confirm to you. And – but obviously, the – I think the comments of the Secretary speak for themselves.

QUESTION: Syria.

QUESTION: Just on —

MS BRUCE: One more.

QUESTION: Syria.

MS BRUCE: Yes.

QUESTION: Just on one other issue, is the Ambassador Mike Huckabee, the ambassador to Israel, appeared in the court hearing for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s corruption trial today. What – I’m just trying to understand what part of the U.S. national interest is served by doing that.

MS BRUCE: Well, we obviously support Israel. They are an ally and a partner. I won’t characterize, as I don’t anyone, their position or the actions they might take. But it would appear that the ambassador was exhibiting his support for Netanyahu.

QUESTION: But against the judicial system? I mean, is this an expression of distrust in the judicial system?

MS BRUCE: Well, I don’t – I know that our inclination sometimes is to look into, like, the broader issues that we’re all working on, but I would not suggest that someone attending to support someone facing a situation as some kind of a larger commentary about a judicial system or a country or anything beyond showing support for someone that they’re – that they know or a friend.

QUESTION: Syria.

MS BRUCE: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Thank you so much. On the Syria and – the Secretary obviously said that he had been in discussions all morning and night. Were you given advanced warning that Israel was going to strike Damascus?

MS BRUCE: Not that I’m aware of. I think that the reaction of the President and Secretary of State indicate that we’re reacting as we should when it comes to seeing something that was unexpected and could be resolved. And then their comments today indicated that that was the response and what they expect to have happen, which they’ve obviously conveyed to the parties involved.

QUESTION: And then just quickly, back to Ambassador Huckabee, yesterday he issued quite a stern tweet calling the killing of an American – a young American in the West Bank a terrorist act. Is that a reflection of a broader State Department view – viewpoint, that the killing of Saif Musallet was a terrorist act?

MS BRUCE: Well, again, I – and welcome back, by the way.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MS BRUCE: So thank you. I’m, again, not going to characterize anyone’s comments. I think that we’ve been clear. I can, of course, expand a little bit on our position in this regard. One thing, of course, we do repeat and it’s important is – the Secretary has also repeated – is that Ambassador Huckabee has asked Israeli authorities to aggressively investigate this case. And we refer you to the Government of Israel for additional details related to that investigation.

As we – because of the nature of the world these days, I say very often that we have no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens. It’s a reminder to everyone watching at home the role of the State Department and why we work as hard as we do. We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen, Sayfollah Musallet, in the West Bank on July 11th. We offer condolences to the family on their loss and are providing consular assistance to them. We are greatly concerned when any U.S. citizen is harmed overseas. Wherever that may be, the United States calls for accountability in all cases where U.S. citizens are harmed abroad.

All right.

QUESTION: Syria. Syria.

MS BRUCE: Yes, ma’am.

QUESTION: Thank you so much, Tammy. Secretary Rubio has taken a lot of ownership of, if not pride, in the reorganization of the State Department which, as you well know, resulted in the layoffs of over 1,300 employees last week. Do you know – does the Secretary plan to address the workforce directly about this?

MS BRUCE: What I can tell you is that without forecasting his actions or any remarks is that the Secretary, as you all know, is very vocal and likes people and engages with them as often as he can. He cares very much about this department and to the point where – look, he undertook something that others had talked about or wished could be done but just didn’t. It was important enough for him so that the people who are here could have a work experience and the result of the products they produce and the passion they have for the work, that it could actually be efficient, that it could get things done with an amount of time that makes it relevant. So it’s – his phrase is the – “at the speed of relevancy.” So I would – he speaks to many of us a lot, all the time, and I would expect of course that to be the case. He’s been busy, as we all know, but he’s certainly engaged in this regard and is up-to-date constantly on the nature of where things stand.

QUESTION: But just respectfully, I mean, it’s the department he oversees, right?

MS BRUCE: Sure. Of course he will. Of course.

QUESTION: He drove a lot of this process. And I think that we reported and (inaudible) layoffs.

MS BRUCE: Well, I think that what – I think – to not – don’t move too far ahead of the fact that I’m not going to state when or how or whether he will. What I’ve said is that he speaks to us all the time; he loves the department, obviously. This is his home. And I think that on this issue and many others, the people who run this department, who make this department relevant and possible, all of us – whether we be political people or career people or Foreign Service officers – we’ll hear from him, of course.

QUESTION: Can I ask on Russia as well? Or – you mentioned the arrangement that the President laid out on Monday that the U.S. sell advanced weapons to NATO members who can then pass them onto Ukraine. How many, if any, members of NATO have committed to that arrangement so far?

MS BRUCE: Well, I didn’t say exactly that. What we said was – was that this would involve NATO, and of course they would have the ability to then move them to other countries. So I think that’s a specific difference. And I will not discuss what – certainly whatever we may or may not have negotiated, or diplomatic discussions, and certainly far from being able to discuss what NATO leadership may be talking about.

QUESTION: Okay. One last question, just on the 50-day timeline now for Russia. Have you gotten any indication from your Russian counterparts that there is an interest in a diplomatic solution?

MS BRUCE: I would say that referring back to President Trump’s remarks probably gives us the most immediate sense of whether or not he views things as being positive, or if he’s happy with what Vladimir Putin has been doing. And of course, we’ve – we’ve heard from him that he’s not happy, is how I’ll characterize it; that he’s not impressed with the nature of how things have moved forward, and that’s what we rely on. We hear – because he’s a transparent man – the nature of his attitude about conversations and his assessment as the leader of the free world – of the entire world, effectively – that he’s not happy. And I think his current actions of taking a path in order to provide Ukraine with more defensive weapons is an indication of that. But I’ve said before that while he is a diplomat and is forever optimistic about diplomacy, he’s also a realist. And the world has seen – as Iran has seen, and now with these new actions by the President that Russia is seeing – that he has – he’s a patient man, but not at the expense of his vision and making that happen.

All right, yes.

QUESTION: Tammy, following up on the American killed in the West Bank, are there any circumstances in which the U.S. would open its own independent investigation into his murder?

MS BRUCE: Well, first of all, we – again – know that Israel is investigating. We’ve urged them to do an investigation aggressively and to finalize that investigation so that we all know what has occurred. I’m not going to speculate on what may or may not happen once that investigation is complete, but we need to wait and let them do that and find out what they – what they ascertain.

QUESTION: And then one on the reorg. There’s been some criticism that these cuts and these changes actually run counter to the Administration’s priorities of making America safer, stronger, more prosperous. What do you say to those arguments?

MS BRUCE: Obviously, that’s – that’s wrong. (Laughter.) That’s wrong. We’ve done these things because there is – it’s – not just having the vision, but knowing how we need to have that vision implemented. I’ve said from the very start – it is – I understand why it comes back, this idea that an existing structure that’s large is the only thing that will work, or it’s large because it does work. The opposite was true. It became large and began to lose its way and became ineffectual bureaucratically – such a largesse there, that things really couldn’t get done. Not the fault of the people who were in those seats, but the structure itself.

So you can look at a giant building that can’t get anything done because of the bureaucracy and the number of offices and the duplications, and it just – it – it was not working. To cut something down, to have fewer people, to have fewer offices is not necessarily – and certainly in this case at all true – that that means that certain things are going to stop, or certain things aren’t going to be functioning as well. Fact of the matter is they will function better – that we will be able to serve the American people, get our mission done, implement our vision – because it’s functional.

So let’s not mistake size and bulk for the appropriate methodology. You’ve got a nimble, effective organization that is what we need in order to get things done. Because of the 21st century, you learn about things now – if something happens as we did – let’s say with Syria. Something happens in Syria right this minute, in two to five minutes all of you are going to hear about it on some platform or through some wire service, many of which you will be working for and it’ll be your colleagues. But we will hear about something in the other hemisphere within minutes of it happening. And then we don’t have weeks or months to determine what our reaction will be. We also need to have a space where we can act at – when he says the speed of relevancy, the Secretary is talking about acting in a world where news and information and reality comes to us almost immediately, and we need to act accordingly.

So those who say that this is going to harm the agenda, the agenda of keeping America safe and strong – that isn’t just now. That’s the agenda of the American people. We’ve always wanted that. The American Government, by becoming too big, has abandoned us in some fashion in that regard, and we’ve seen the suffering of the American people throughout generations. This makes it better, makes us safer, makes us stronger. And we will see that because it is fast, you will see that being implemented.

QUESTION: Syria —

MS BRUCE: Yes, sir, in the back. Right there.

QUESTION: Thank you so much, Tammy. First one on the Iraq, the other one on Syria. So recently the drone attacks has increased on the Kurdistan region, particularly on the U.S. firms, the oil fields operated by the U.S. firms, including an attack that happened today, which the U.S. firms have announced the suspension of oil production. I was wondering what’s the U.S. comment on – reaction to these attacks. And the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said that this is not acceptable. What do you mean by “this is not acceptable”? Are you going to take any actions against those groups who attacked these oil fields?

MS BRUCE: Well, we have been vocal regarding actions that have happened with Iraq and the Kurdistan region. We’ve made it clear that we expect Iraq to withdraw certain dynamics that they apply to the Kurds when it comes to issues of salaries and oil distribution, et cetera. And of course, these kinds of attacks in the Kurdistan region of Iraq are unacceptable. We’ve expressed our dismay and our problem with them. And that’s what I can report to you at this point.

All right, one more.

QUESTION: Yeah. My second question is – yeah, one more. On Syria, you said that Israel – you confirmed that Israel interfering to protect the rights of Druze in Syria.

MS BRUCE: Well, I said they were – to protect the Druze. I did not say the rights of. But yes, they would —

QUESTION: Yes. So —

MS BRUCE: That’s what we understand is what Israel was doing, yes.

QUESTION: So I’m going to ask a question —

MS BRUCE: Yes, all right.

QUESTION: — about the U.S. view on that. So do you think the absence of the comprehensive political collection in Syria, one that safeguards the rights of minority groups like Kurds and Druze, has impacted the situation like that? We’ve heard Ambassador Barrack said that the U.S. does not support federalism in Syria. So how should the minority groups like Kurds and Druze feel safe to integrate within a government which they go and insult their dignity?

MS BRUCE: Well, obviously this has been very fast-moving. It’s been made very clear there through our support with Ambassador Barrack what our intentions are. We’ve understood that the results have to be – you can put your hand down, sir, thank you – that the results have to be described. People there in Syria have to see results, especially regarding the infrastructure. At the same time, this is a new, fluid dynamic, and this is where I think, when we talk about misunderstandings, how the communication between friends, new neighbors, partners, has to – we have to be able to act quickly if there is a misunderstanding, if certain situations occur.

And this is what is very impressive here about what I’ve been watching over the hours while this unfolded is the immediate involvement of the President himself, of the Secretary of State, in public discussing it, having statements be up, making it clear to – as much as they can what their commitment is to this situation, to de-escalate – what is the position of the United States? That’s what when we talk about being at the speed of relevancy, that is what can matter in this situation in a region that has been in a very tough spot for a very long time. The President has discussed this.

So I think that the Syrians, the people there, the Israelis, the Syrian Government, the region know now that people are home here, that the United States is engaged, that we are involved in a committed way, that President Trump cares about each aspect. And certainly, of course, we’ve heard from the Special Envoy Barrack in addition to the nation’s leadership. That in and of itself we think is important, in addition to the results that will come with the diplomacy that we’ve exhibited over the – certainly the beginning of this term.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you, Madam Bruce. My name is Ahmad Shahidov. I am journalist from Azerbaijan. I have two question, Ms. Bruce.

MS BRUCE: Nice to meet you, sir.

QUESTION: Thank you so much. First question: Last week, Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, visited Azerbaijan and met with President Ilham Aliyev, and they signed new agreements on postwar reconstruction process in Syria and energy cooperation, including potential natural gas from Azerbaijan to Syria. And this visit came shortly after the U.S. decided to temporarily ease several sanctions on Syria to allow humanitarian aid and reconstruction efforts, but some Iranian media outlets sharply criticized this visit of Ahmed al-Sharaa to Baku and warning that the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Syria threatens Iran’s regional influence. How does the U.S. State Department assess the growing cooperation between Azerbaijan and Syria? What does Washington have – does Washington have concern about how this might affect the regional dynamics in Middle East or —

MS BRUCE: All right. Well, there’s many things I heard there, and I would like us to take that back. But I will say a few things to what you’ve remarked on. But let’s make sure that we kind of are able to address a lot.

As you’ve noted, of course, part of our commitment to Syria is waiving the sanctions so that we can get investment, so that we can get things built, so that – speaking specifically about infrastructure when it comes to gas, when it comes to energy and electricity, et cetera. That is at the very least that a new government should be able to provide its people. There is an interest, clearly, in the stability of Syria throughout that region for the United States, for the world, right? So that – we know that there’s a multitude of interests. Obviously, we want the region to be involved, and the details of which I won’t discuss when it comes to the nature of what the Secretary might be involved in and each piece of that, but we do know that it’s important that we – as we’ve acted very quickly to change the dynamic that was under Assad with Syria so that the Syrian people – all of them, from all tribes, all regions – are able to enjoy life again after a period where they haven’t been able to.

QUESTION: Tammy?

MS BRUCE: Yes, go ahead.

QUESTION: Can I ask on GHF? At least 20 Palestinians were killed today at an aid distribution site run by GHF in what the U.S.-backed group said was a crowd surge instigated by armed agitators. Does the State Department have any comment on this? And would you expect any sort of investigation into this incident?

MS BRUCE: Yes, I do have a remark for you. I know you don’t look like I might. You’re looking a little – don’t – don’t be forlorn.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MS BRUCE: We do. What I will say also while I’m here in this space is that we are now – 76 million meals to date have been distributed to the region, so I think that’s important to address.

So this is regarding the 20 killed, as you’ve – as you have noted. GHF itself has issued a statement which I will provide for you here: “We have credible reason to believe that elements within the crowd – armed and affiliated with Hamas – deliberately fomented the unrest.” GHF has also reported a troubling pattern of unknown actors circulating false messages about GHF aid site openings, which contributes to incidents like the deaths on July 16th. GHF is committed – is obviously being transparent, is to be commended for that, about this incident, which also resulted in the injury of an American GHF employee, and we refer you to GHF for more information.

All right, yes.

QUESTION: Can I just follow up on that?

MS BRUCE: Did you – are we – did you have a question, Matt Lee?

QUESTION: Well, wait.

MS BRUCE: Okay.

QUESTION: I just – you just read a GHF statement.

MS BRUCE: Yes, I did.

QUESTION: What’s the State Department’s view of it?

MS BRUCE: Yes I did. Well, there’s – I read statements from a number of places and situations that are involved in the dynamic of what it is that’s being asked about. For more information, I then refer you – also, I refer you to groups. I’ve referred you to GHF multiple times. So if that’s – if it’s a group that’s involved in something that’s made a statement, it’s worth hearing. How you handle that statement is up to you. I did not say how you should report on that or what you would ask next.

QUESTION: Okay. But does that just mean – does that mean the State Department doesn’t really have anything to – have its own comments?

MS BRUCE: It means that I’ve read a statement, Matt Lee. I’ve read a statement about a group that was being asked about, and they made a statement, and I shared it with everyone here.

Gillian, did you have something? No? All right. And we’ll go right here.

QUESTION: Thanks, Tammy.

MS BRUCE: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Two questions for you, number one on Syria. As Tom mentioned earlier, there were – it’s immense amount of political capital that’s been involved in propping up al-Sharaa and giving the government legitimacy —

MS BRUCE: I would move you off the phrase “propped up.” This is an active group of people. We are active, serious people trying to make this situation work. Propping up – I would just wave you off that phrase.

QUESTION: Duly noted.

MS BRUCE: I think supporting and being vocal about that and helping, sure.

QUESTION: One of the commitments given in return was the protection of the minority communities there. This is now the second massacre of minorities, first the Alawites, now the Druze. What is the message being sent to the Syrian Government in terms of their own commitments?

MS BRUCE: Well, this is essentially alluded to before when we discussed this, is that part of the problem in the beginning of something like this that has been dealing with a whole host of horrible situations for generations – a new situation, a situation that’s fluid, also in a region that has been in constant trouble with constant tribal issues, longstanding tribal issues, where there is a chance to change an environment. And the reaction to the things that will occur – we never expect in any dynamic, including this situation or other dynamics that we’re dealing with in the Middle East or elsewhere, where because we have an idea or something new is being implemented or that we’re present and that we’re working on something – it doesn’t mean it’s going to be a utopia immediately.

What we – you have to recognize that these are things that might occur, be prepared to address them if and when they do, and after the fact find out, yes, what occurred, what needs to change. I know, of course, that it’s not just about stopping an event or dealing with things in a static manner, but each dynamic moves us along in finding out what the challenges are and how to fix that. And that is clearly going to be the case here with this situation.

QUESTION: With the death of the – with the death – real quick.

QUESTION: Tammy, just to follow up. A quick follow-up.

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MS BRUCE: One more.

QUESTION: Very quickly. With the death of the American in Judea and Samaria, President Trump and Secretary Rubio were discussing it with the media earlier today. The President looked at the Secretary. He mentioned something about a meeting about it tomorrow. The White House press office is looking into it for me; they didn’t quite understand either. Is there a meeting going on tomorrow about the situation?

MS BRUCE: Well, my goodness, I love the faith you have in me. (Laughter.) No, if this is —

QUESTION: I have tremendous faith in you, Tammy.

MS BRUCE: I do, I do, I love it. What – again, which is a very exciting time to be doing this kind of job, and also when it comes to a president like President Trump and our discussions about the speed with which things happen all the time, this is one of those cases. Decisions are made in the moment with the President of the United States. I wasn’t there. I’m with the State Department. So obviously, I would say the White House will have answers for you, will be able to answer your questions. And I certainly won’t speculate on what that means. But what I can tell you is when the President and others in the White House say something’s going to happen, it does.

QUESTION: Tammy, on the —

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MS BRUCE: All right. Yes, in the back. In the back. We’ve had – some people have not had a chance.

QUESTION: Will the Secretary —

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MS BRUCE: Let’s go to the – but with the glasses. Let’s keep going here.

QUESTION: Thank you. After the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, India is now releasing threatening statements and has blocked water supply to millions of Pakistani by suspending Indus Water Treaty. Pakistan says it consider it as an act of war as more than 240 million Pakistanis rely on the supply of this water for agriculture and basic needs. So what are your comments on this (inaudible)?

MS BRUCE: Well, yes, that’s – specifically, I have nothing for you regarding that particular dynamic. But let’s see what we can find, and we will get it back to you.

QUESTION: And understanding – as of —

MS BRUCE: Well, I have – one more with someone who has not already had a bite at the apple. In the glasses, sir, at the end of the row. Yes.

QUESTION: Hi, it’s Cameron from The Telegraph.

MS BRUCE: Terrific.

QUESTION: Do you expect Israel to inform the U.S. before carrying out bombing raids in the region?

MS BRUCE: Well, I can’t speak to any arrangements we have regarding – certainly, what the DOD might be addressing or dealing with or diplomatic arrangements we’ve made or agreements we have with another country regarding or not regarding military engagement. So that’s not something I can answer for you.

QUESTION: Okay. One quick follow-up. In relation to British relations. The State Department revoked the visa of British rapper Bob Vylan after he chanted —

MS BRUCE: I’m sorry. Was that – say the name again, sir? I’m sorry.

QUESTION: Bob Vylan.

MS BRUCE: Yes, of course.

QUESTION: After he changed “Death to the IDF” at Glastonbury. An Irish rap group called Kneecap is facing terror charges in the UK for shouting “Up Hamas, up Hizballah” during a concert while draped in a Hamas flag. The group has a UK – U.S. tour planned for this summer. Will the State Department also consider revoking their visas?

MS BRUCE: Well, again I won’t speculate on a decision that’s going to be made by our consular services here and the rules that are involved, regardless of what you may think we would do. But I’m not going to project or get ahead of my skis when it comes to speculating on what might occur.

All right. And you’ve had your hand up all day. You will be our last question. I’m sorry, everyone, but I’ve – I’ll be back tomorrow. It’ll be fun to do one day right after the next. Yes, ma’am.

QUESTION: Thank you. I just want to follow up on Syria. You said that Israeli forces intervene to protect the Druze community. But today an Israeli strike actually struck near the presidential palace in Syria’s capital Damascus, and Israel also targeted Syrian military headquarters in the city. Does the U.S. consider the Syrian presidential palace and the military headquarters as a legitimate military target for Israel? And do you believe that the Syrian Government, whose leader, by the way, has met with the President Trump and praised by him, poses a threat to Israel?

MS BRUCE: Well, obviously those are not going to be – there’s a lot of speculation there. I’m not going to comment on whether or not Israel and how they make their decisions about what it is they feel the need to do. We understand again that they intervened to protect the Druze. The steps of what that meant to them I can’t speak to. You could of course ask the Israeli Government. But we are involved, clearly, in the framework of stopping this and de-escalating, and we will no doubt will have more answers as the days go on. And that will be it – that will be it. All right. That’s it for today. Thank you, everyone. All right. I’ll see you tomorrow.

(The briefing was concluded at 2:53 p.m.)

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