On Tuesday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/04/16/statement-by-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-on-holding-iran-accountable-for-unprecedented-attack-on-israel/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/04/16/statement-by-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-on-holding-iran-accountable-for-unprecedented-attack-on-israel/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1713448155000000&amp;usg=AOvVaw39YVMJ5ZtWVWzVMRn3elbi">announced</a> that the Biden administration would impose new sanctions targeting Iran in the wake of the regime&#8217;s attack on Israel over the weekend.
Sullivan stated that the U.S. would coordinate with its allies, including the G7 countries, to determine the response to the attack.
“In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program as well as new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Defense Ministry,” he stated. “In addition, we continue to work through the Department of Defense and U.S. Central Command to further strengthen and expand the successful integration of air and missile defense and early warning systems across the Middle East to further erode the effectiveness of Iran’s missile and UAV capabilities.”
“These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran’s military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors,” he continued. “Over the last three years, in addition to missile and drone-related sanctions, the United States has sanctioned over 600 individuals and entities connected to terrorism, terrorist financing and other forms of illicit trade, horrific human rights abuses, and support for proxy terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Kataib Hezbollah. The pressure will continue.”
Although the Biden administration may impose sanctions, the White House <a href="https://freebeacon.com/biden-administration/biden-admin-renews-iran-sanctions-waiver-that-unlocks-upwards-of-10-billion-for-regime/">extended</a> last month a waiver on sanctions that could allow up to $10 billion to flow to Iran from Iraq through electricity payments to Iran via third-party countries.
In a <a href="https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-03-11-Letter-to-Yellen-and-Blinken-re-Iran-Sanctions-Follow-Up-Final.pdf" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2024-03-11-Letter-to-Yellen-and-Blinken-re-Iran-Sanctions-Follow-Up-Final.pdf&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1713448155000000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1uKoc3_cfjOqSed_5bxJVi">letter</a> to the Treasury and State Departments, four House Republicans protested the move, writing, &#8220;Given the Biden Administration&#8217;s posture on the last waiver we presume that the Biden Administration will renew the waiver again to continue to allow for the transfer of funds from Iraq to Oman. By waiving the application of sanctions, the Administration is maintaining a financial lifeline for the Iranian regime, even as it continues to support terrorist organizations around the world.&#8221;
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“Iran has a history of lying about humanitarian transactions,” they pointed out. “There is no reason to think that they will not try to skirt these restrictions again. Additionally, money is fungible, and the waiver and subsequent transfer will free up billions in funds that Iran can now spend on its terrorist proxies, nuclear activities, and military.”
“Under these waivers, no money has been permitted to enter Iran,” a State Department official stated. “These funds, which are held abroad in third countries, can only be used for transactions for the purchase of food, agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, and other non-sanctionable transactions. The money goes straight to the trusted vendor or financial institution in another country. The money never touches Iran.”
The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-iran-oil-hamas-israel-gaza-df192c53" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-administration-iran-oil-hamas-israel-gaza-df192c53&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1713448155000000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3icqDyXA8tuz9N7rL9lC7B">noted</a> last November:
<blockquote>
Iran exported nearly <a href="https://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/blog/october-2023-iran-tanker-tracker" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.unitedagainstnucleariran.com/blog/october-2023-iran-tanker-tracker&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1713448155000000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0pO5PBWWAbHaSmt4f5botR">1.4 million barrels of oil per day in October</a>, sustaining its average for 2023. This is up 80% from the 775,000 barrels per day Iran averaged under the Trump Administration’s “maximum pressure” strategy, according to United Against Nuclear Iran, the group of former U.S. Ambassador Mark Wallace and Sen. Joe Lieberman, whose Tanker Tracker generates the best public data we have. The Iranian surge in oil exports since President Biden took over has brought Iran <a href="https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2023/11/07/how-the-u-s-can-slash-tehrans-oil-revenue/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2023/11/07/how-the-u-s-can-slash-tehrans-oil-revenue/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1713448155000000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3578NkDeUilEVl1J14IWWO">an additional $32 billion to $35 billion</a>, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
</blockquote>

President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

Biden Admin Announces New Sanctions On Iran — A Month After Freeing Up Potentially Billions For Islamic Regime

Iran

Israel

Jake Sullivan

Joe Biden

Politics

World

Biden National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan demanded on Sunday that House Republicans give Ukraine all the resources that it wants to fight its war against Russia while making no demands for Democrats to find a compromise in order to get a funding bill passed in Congress.
Sullivan&#8217;s interview on NBC News&#8217;s &#8220;Meet The Press&#8221; comes after Democrats tried to pass a border security bill attached to Ukraine funding earlier this month that lacked most of what Republicans wanted to see done to fix the border crisis.
&#8220;We need to understand that, actually, Ukraine has, in many ways, succeeded in thwarting the fundamental objective of Vladimir Putin, which was to subjugate the country of Ukraine,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;Now, Ukraine has also taken back roughly half the territory that Russia occupied in the early months of the war. We are looking at some setbacks, including in recent days, because Ukraine didn&#8217;t have enough ammunition to defend the town of Avdiivka in the east. But at the end of the day, Ukraine still has the capacity – if we provide them the tools and resources they need – to be able to prevail in this war. And it is up to us, the United States, and our allies and partners, to deliver on our commitment. And that&#8217;s why it&#8217;s so important that Congress act.&#8221;
When asked if he believes that Ukraine can win the war militarily, Sullivan said, &#8220;Of course,&#8221; but House Republicans needed to give into Democrats&#8217; demands and &#8220;pass that bill.&#8221;
&#8220;This ultimately comes down to a simple decision from one man, Speaker Johnson,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;If there were an up or down vote in the House, this would pass on a bipartisan basis. So Speaker Johnson needs to decide, will he allow that vote to go forward? If he does, Ukraine will get what it needs. If he doesn&#8217;t, then the United States will not have the resources necessary to give Ukraine the kinds of tools and capacities that it needs. That&#8217;s what this comes down to. And that is the moment that we are at right now.&#8221;
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Sullivan claimed that if Johnson did not give in to Democrat demands that Republicans would be giving Russian President Vladimir Putin an outcome that he &#8220;would love to see.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="‘Ukraine can go further in retaking territory’ if U.S. gives more aid: Full NSA Sullivan interview" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bEPcGyyfrAs?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Opening Day Of The World Economic Forum (WEF) 2024

Jake Sullivan Demands House GOP Give Money To Ukraine, Makes No Demands For Democrats To Compromise

Global Politics

House Republicans

Russia

Ukraine

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH) released a statement on Wednesday calling for President Joe Biden to immediately declassify newly discovered information about a &#8220;destabilizing&#8221; military capability from a hostile foreign power.
Turner said in a message to House members that the Intelligence Committee &#8220;has identified an urgent matter with regard to a destabilizing foreign military capability that should be known by all Congressional Policy Makers.&#8221;
He said in a subsequent statement that while all House members are able to view some of the information about the &#8220;serious national security threat,&#8221; he wants Biden to &#8220;declassify all information relating to this threat so that Congress, the Administration, and our allies can openly discuss the actions necessary to respond to this threat.&#8221;
CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/14/politics/house-intel-chairman-serious-national-security-threat/index.html">reported</a> that multiple sources have indicated that the intelligence is &#8220;very sensitive.&#8221;
One source who reportedly saw the intelligence told the network “it is, in fact, a highly concerning and destabilizing” Russian capability “that we were recently made aware of.”
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said from the White House that the reported Russian capability represented a “serious national security threat.”
“I reached out earlier this week to the Gang of Eight to offer myself for up for a personal briefing to the Gang of Eight and, in fact, we scheduled a briefing for the for House members of the Gang of Eight tomorrow,” Sullivan said. “That’s been on the books. So I am a bit surprised that Congressman Turner came out publicly today in advance of a meeting on the books for me to go sit with him alongside our intelligence and defense professionals tomorrow.”
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Sullivan&#8217;s remarks have come as the administration has, in numerous instances, been either slow or reluctant to confront serious national security threats to the U.S., including increased Chinese aggression, Russian aggression against Ukraine, and Iranian-backed terrorist attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East.
In other circumstances, the administration has been the cause of national security threats, including Biden&#8217;s disastrous border policies that have led to millions of illegal aliens flooding into the U.S. and his withdrawal from Afghanistan, which has allowed terrorist groups to rapidly grow as they plot attacks against the West.

Biden Impeachment Resolution

Top Republican Urges Biden To Declassify New Intel On ‘Destabilizing Foreign Military Capability’

Congress

Executive

Mike Turner

Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden&#8217;s national security adviser, argued over the weekend that it was more important now to create a Palestinian state than before Palestinian terrorists with Hamas murdered 1,200 Israelis during their unprecedented terrorist attack.
The remarks from Sullivan, made during a Sunday interview on ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week&#8221; with host George Stephanopoulos, come after top Israeli officials have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/netanyahu-israel-opposes-palestinian-state-in-any-postwar-scenario">warned</a> that the creation of a Palestinian state would threaten the very existence of the state of Israel.
&#8220;The U.S. position on this is very straightforward,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;The only long-term answer to peace in the region, to Israel&#8217;s security in the region, is a two-state solution, with Israel&#8217;s security guaranteed. A Palestinian state that also has security guarantees for Israel. That’s what we’re going to keep working for.&#8221;
&#8220;We were doing that before October 7th,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;I think since October 7th the need to work on that has only increased and we would like to deliver an outcome over time that has alluded administrations of both parties for decades that is in the best interests, we believe, of everyone in the region and in the wider world.&#8221;
On October 7, 2023, thousands of terrorists from Hamas and other Palestinian civilians stormed into Israel during a surprise attack that was years in the planning. In addition to murdering 1,200 Israelis on that day, more than 5,000 were injured and hundreds were taken hostage.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
“The U.S. position on this is very straightforward. The only long-term answer to peace in the region, to Israel&#39;s security in the region, is a two-state solution, with Israel&#39;s security guaranteed,” White House’s Jake Sullivan says. <a href="https://t.co/zh67BkpEHd">https://t.co/zh67BkpEHd</a> <a href="https://t.co/2aVxjwDI3Z">pic.twitter.com/2aVxjwDI3Z</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1754156659524407454?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 4, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

White House Press Briefing

Biden Official Jake Sullivan: It’s More Important To Create A Palestinian State Now Than Before October 7

ABC News

Hamas

Palestinians

Jake Sullivan, President Biden&#8217;s national security adviser, repeatedly dodged answering key questions on Sunday about the military strikes that the U.S. launched against Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria late last week.
Sullivan made the remarks during four separate interviews — ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, and CNN — after the Biden administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-telegraphs-to-iran-and-its-terrorist-proxies-that-u-s-military-is-on-its-way-to-bomb-them">repeatedly</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/iranian-irgc-commanders-go-into-hiding-as-biden-admin-continues-to-leak-details-of-alleged-retaliatory-strikes-reports">telegraphed</a> to Iran <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/terror-groups-evacuate-their-positions-after-biden-admin-tips-them-off-to-their-plans">details</a> about what its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/terror-groups-evacuate-their-positions-after-biden-admin-tips-them-off-to-their-plans">response</a> in the region would be after three U.S. soldiers were killed and dozens more injured during a terrorist attack last weekend.
Sullivan said during the interviews that the initial round of strikes were only the beginning and that more would be forthcoming, &#8220;Some of those steps will be seen. Some may not be seen.&#8221;
He acknowledged during an interview on ABC News&#8217; &#8220;This Week&#8221; that the strikes did not establish deterrence against future attacks, an issue that Republicans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republicans-slam-biden-for-disastrous-response-to-u-s-soldiers-being-murdered-retaliatory-strikes-are-not-deterrence">quickly called out</a>, saying that the administration, &#8220;cannot rule out that there will be future attacks from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria or from the Houthis.&#8221;
Sullivan claimed that the administration had signaled toughness to Iran through its actions and not its &#8220;words,&#8221; even though Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders fled Iraq and Syria shortly after the Biden administration started leaking information about its retaliatory strikes.
When pressed during an interview on CNN&#8217;s &#8220;State of the Union&#8221; about what the next steps of the U.S.&#8217;s campaign was going to be, Sullivan responded: &#8220;I&#8217;m not going to, obviously, describe the character of that action because I don&#8217;t want to telegraph our punches.&#8221;
CBS News&#8217; Margaret Brennan brought up the fact the strikes were &#8220;so telegraphed in advance&#8221; and mentioned how it allowed IRGC commanders to escape.
&#8220;The idea that somehow this was telegraphed, I think is a bit more of a political talking point than a reality,&#8221; he claimed.
NBC News&#8217; Kristen Welker asked Sullivan about the intense criticism the administration has faced for telegraphing the strikes, to which he mocked those saying that, calling them &#8220;armchair quarterbacks.&#8221;
Again, this comes after the administration warned for a week that it was going to conduct an extensive bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria against Iranian-backed terrorist facilities that were involved in the deadly attack on U.S. forces. Numerous reports have indicated that Iran&#8217;s IRGC commanders fled and were unharmed and there has been speculation that a lot of weapons were moved and thus not destroyed during the strikes.
Sullivan also refused to rule out during multiple interviews the possibility that the U.S. could conduct military strikes inside of Iran.
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On the criticism that the administration has faced for responding only a handful of times to the approximately 170 attacks that U.S. forces have faced in Iraq and Syria since mid-October, Sullivan claimed that &#8220;the notion that we have not responded is just incorrect.&#8221;
Sullivan refused to disclose any details on how effective the strikes were late last week or information on how many terrorists were killed.

Media Briefing Held By Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre And National Security Advisor Sullivan

Jake Sullivan Dodges Questions On U.S. Strikes; Claims U.S. Did Not ‘Telegraph’ Its Attacks

Middle East

New details shed light on how top White House officials, including President Joe Biden himself, were <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/06/pentagon-took-3-days-to-inform-white-houses-nsc-of-austins-hospitalization-00134176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not informed</a> for days that Defense Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/lloyd-austin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lloyd Austin</a> had been hospitalized last week in a shock turn of events.
<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/secretary-defense-lloyd-austin-hospitalized-middle-east-missions-rcna132612" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reporting</a> on Saturday also divulged that Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks took charge while she was on vacation after Austin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-shocker-defense-secretary-hospitalized-days-ago-press-alarmed-by-late-notice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was admitted</a> to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday for what the Pentagon described as &#8220;complications following a recent elective medical procedure.&#8221;
The Department of Defense (DoD), which did not publicly disclose Austin&#8217;s health matter until close-of-business on Friday, released a <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3633506/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-lloyd-j-austin-iii-on-medical-care/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> from the defense secretary sharing that he was recovering and expressing contrition for how the situation had been handled.
&#8220;I want to thank the amazing doctors and nursing staff at Walter Reed for the exceptional care they have delivered to me and for the personal warmth they have shown my family. I also appreciate all the outreach and well wishes from colleagues and friends. Charlene and I are very grateful for your support,&#8221; he said, referring to his wife.
&#8220;I am very glad to be on the mend and look forward to returning to the Pentagon soon,&#8221; Lloyd added. &#8220;I also understand the media concerns about transparency and I recognize I could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed. I commit to doing better. But this is important to say: this was my medical procedure, and I take full responsibility for my decisions about disclosure.&#8221;
U.S. officials told <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/06/pentagon-took-3-days-to-inform-white-houses-nsc-of-austins-hospitalization-00134176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">POLITICO</a> that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and other senior White House aides did not learn of Austin&#8217;s health scare until Thursday. &#8220;This should not have happened this way,&#8221; one of the officials told the news outlet. A source also <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/06/politics/lloyd-austin-hospitalization-officials/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told CNN</a> that Biden himself did not learn what happened to Austin for days.
Another report, this one <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/secretary-defense-lloyd-austin-hospitalized-middle-east-missions-rcna132612" target="_blank" rel="noopener">from NBC News</a>, featured senior administration officials saying Austin spent four days in the intensive care unit. A senior defense official said Hicks took on the defense secretary&#8217;s duties last week even though she was on vacation in Puerto Rico and Austin did not resume full command until Friday evening.
“At all times, the Deputy Secretary of Defense was prepared to act for and exercise the powers of the Secretary, if required,” Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder insisted in a statement. He also said there was an &#8220;evolving situation&#8221; in which &#8220;multiple factors&#8221; such as medical and privacy issues were considered.
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Despite Biden and his National Security Council reportedly being caught off guard, the president has &#8220;full confidence&#8221; in Austin and is &#8220;looking forward to him being back at the Pentagon,&#8221; a White House official <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffmason1/status/1743807654177165741" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Reuters</a>.
Members of the media, some with decades of experience covering the Pentagon, voiced shock and concern in response to the DoD releasing a public statement on Friday that revealed Austin had been hospitalized on Monday — an announcement that POLITICO noted came 15 minutes after Congress was notified.
The board of directors of the Pentagon Press Association, a group for reporters covering the national security beat, sent a <a href="https://twitter.com/TaskandPurpose/status/1743450095641674051">letter</a> to DoD public affairs officials calling the late notice an &#8220;outrage&#8221; and requesting a meeting on the &#8220;troubling situation as soon as possible.&#8221; They also said Austin &#8220;has no claim to privacy in this situation.&#8221;
Some lawmakers demanded an explanation from the DoD, including Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who <a href="https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-austin-must-address-troubling-hospitalization-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Austin &#8220;must address promptly the troubling report that the Department of Defense didn’t immediately notify President Biden or the National Security Council that he was hospitalized and unable to perform his duties.&#8221;

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin

Biden Kept In Dark About Defense Secretary’s Hospitalization; Deputy Took Charge While On Vacation: Reports

Biden Kept In Dark About Defense Secretary's Hospitalization; Deputy Took Charge While On Vacation: Reports

Biden Administration

Lloyd Austin

National Security

Pentagon

U.S.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan dodged a question over the weekend about whether the Biden administration&#8217;s negotiations with Qatar — to secure the release of U.S. citizens being held by Hamas terrorists inside Gaza — could endanger Americans around the world.
NBC News&#8217; Kristen Welker asked Sullivan during a Sunday interview on &#8220;Meet The Press&#8221; about whether he had &#8220;any concern that the U.S. so publicly negotiating a hostage release sends a message that Americans are willing to negotiate with terrorists, even if indirectly, and that that could ultimately put the lives of other Americans at risk on the world stage?&#8221;
Welker&#8217;s question comes after the Biden administration paid $6 billion to Iran to secure the release of five U.S. citizens that were being unlawfully detained by the Islamic Republic.
&#8220;Look, we&#8217;ve been in the business since the beginning of the Biden administration – and President Biden has taken a leadership role in this – in taking steps to bring home Americans who are unjustly detained or being held hostage overseas,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And we&#8217;ve been willing to make hard decisions to do that because as the president said, he has no higher priority than to bring Americans home. When the United States had one policy or another, people were taking Americans hostage.&#8221;
&#8220;So from our perspective, this isn&#8217;t about precedent. It isn&#8217;t about policy,&#8221; he claimed. &#8220;It&#8217;s about a simple principle: if there&#8217;s an American citizen being held overseas, we are going to do everything in our power – using diplomacy, using influence, using leverage – to be able to get those people home safely to their families. That is the commitment of President Biden.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Full Jake Sullivan: &#039;We do not know&#039; all three American hostages are alive" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GaPAr0opiLU?start=407&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Biden Official Jake Sullivan Dodges Question On Whether Negotiating With Terrorists Endangers Americans Around World

Meet the Press

Terrorists

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said over the weekend that Hamas terrorists are still holding nearly a dozen U.S. citizens hostage inside Gaza.
Sullivan&#8217;s remarks during a Sunday interview with Jonathan Karl on ABC News&#8217;s &#8220;This Week&#8221; were made just before a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/14-israeli-hostages-3-foreign-hostages-arrive-back-in-israel">third group of hostages was released</a>, which included 4-year-old Abigail Idan, a dual U.S. citizen whose parents were brutally murdered in front of her in Kfar Aza kibbutz during the October 7 attacks.
&#8220;Her parents were – were slaughtered right in front of her. And what that little girl has had to go through all of this time, it’s just unspeakable,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;It’s unthinkable. It’s something that neither you or I could even begin to imagine or contemplate.&#8221;
Sullivan was then asked about the number of Americans who were still being held hostage by Hamas.
&#8220;There are nine U.S. citizens and one U.S. [lawful permanent resident], Green Card holder, for a total of 10 Americans,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;Three of them are women and children, seven of them are men.&#8221;
Karl noted that among the Palestinian women and minors who have been released — all of whom are convicted criminals, many with ties to terrorism — have embraced Hamas terrorist flags upon their release.
Sullivan said that while Hamas has gained some benefits from the temporary ceasefire, those benefits will likely be short-lived and fade &#8220;fairly quickly.&#8221;
He added that the ceasefire could be extended by an extra few days to secure the release of more hostages, but afterward, Israel is expected to resume targeting Hamas with a particular interest in &#8220;the leadership of Hamas, that were the architects of this brutal, bloody massacre, the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust.&#8221;
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&#8220;And Hamas represents a continuing threat to Israel. In fact, Hamas leaders have said on television that they would like to repeat October 7th again and again and again,&#8221; he said. &#8220;So, Israel does have the right to defend itself. It will take action to suppress and ultimately eliminate the threat that Hamas poses to the state of Israel. And that is what any country would do to defend its territory and its people.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Following the release of some hostages held in Gaza, national adviser Jake Sullivan tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> that “physically, many of them are doing OK.” 
“Emotionally and psychologically, this is going to take a long time to recover from.” <a href="https://t.co/FPRedX3eGJ">https://t.co/FPRedX3eGJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/I9TOSgeZbt">pic.twitter.com/I9TOSgeZbt</a>
&mdash; This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1728786285886632313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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White House Media Briefing Held By Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre And National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan

National Security Adviser Sullivan Gives Update On Number Of Americans Still Held Hostage By Hamas

Americans

Gaza

Hostages

Terrorism

National security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview over the weekend that Hamas terrorists were illegally using hospitals and other civilian infrastructure as shields inside Gaza against Israeli forces.
Sullivan made the remarks during a Sunday interview on CBS News&#8217; &#8220;Face The Nation&#8221; with host Margaret Brennan when asked if the U.S. believes reports on what is happening inside the territory as Israel Defense Forces (IDF) combat the terrorist group responsible for murdering 1,200 people in Israel during last month&#8217;s terror attack.
&#8220;Without getting into intelligence information, we can just look at the open source reporting that Hamas is using hospitals, as it uses many other civilian facilities, for command and control, for weapons storage, to house its fighters,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;And this is a violation of the laws of war.&#8221;
He noted that IDF officials have said that they are doing everything in their power to look for ways to minimize loss of civilian life as they continue to strike Hamas targets, adding that Hamas has a &#8220;track record&#8221; of committing war crimes by using human shields.
When asked about claims from the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry about the number of Palestinians that have been killed, Sullivan said that the U.S. does not trust the information released from inside Gaza.
&#8220;We don&#8217;t have fidelity on the numbers of casualties, fatalities in Gaza,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We don&#8217;t know how many are fighters and how many are innocent civilians.&#8221;
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Sullivan added that things would never go back to the way they were on October 6, the day before Hamas&#8217; attack on Israel, noting that Hamas leaders have openly stated that they want to commit as many October 7 attacks on Israel as possible.
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Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre And National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan Hold Monday’s White House Briefing

Top Biden Official: Hamas Using Human Shields, U.S. Does Not Trust Casualty Numbers From Gaza

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

A top aide to President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> warned of an &#8220;elevated risk&#8221; that the conflict in the Middle East could spread across the region as Israel fights Hamas in the Gaza Strip in response to deadly terrorist attacks and the U.S. military trades fire with Iranian-backed groups in nearby Syria.
U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan — who not long ago <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-adviser-confronted-over-touting-quiet-middle-east" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touted a quiet Middle East</a> — made the comment on Sunday after being asked by CBS &#8220;Face the Nation&#8221; moderator Margaret Brennan if he believes Iran has been deterred.
&#8220;What I believe is that the United States will follow through on what we say we&#8217;re going to do. We said that if our troops were attacked, we would respond, we responded,&#8221; Sullivan <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/national-security-adviser-jake-sullivan-face-the-nation-transcript-10-29-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said on CBS</a>.
&#8220;If they&#8217;re attacked again, we will respond again,&#8221; he added. &#8220;And we are vigilant, because we are seeing elevated threats against our forces throughout the region, and an elevated risk of this conflict spreading to other parts of the region. We are doing everything in our power to deter and prevent that. But I&#8217;m not going to predict what the future brings, other than to say that if we are attacked, we will respond.&#8221;
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U.S. military forces conducted &#8220;self-defense&#8221; strikes on two facilities in Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups in response to attacks on U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3570798/secretary-of-defense-lloyd-j-austin-iiis-statement-on-us-military-strikes-in-ea/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> last week.
Though Austin said the strikes were unrelated to the war in the Gaza Strip, Iran has a long history of supporting Hamas. The group conducted terrorist attacks in Israel earlier this month that killed an estimated 1,400-plus people, including 33 Americans, and resulted in more than 200 hostages being taken. In addition, Lebanon&#8217;s Hezbollah — another group backed by Iran — has been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/29/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-gaza-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exchanging fire</a> with Israeli forces.
During a speech to the United Nations last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said his country does “not welcome the expansion of the war in the region&#8221; but warned that the United States <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/irans-foreign-minister-threatens-u-s-forces-while-speaking-in-new-york-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;will not be spared&#8221;</a> from the conflict if the fighting in Gaza did not cease.
Sullivan said the U.S. has taken the stance that Israel &#8220;has a right to defend itself&#8221; against terrorist attacks and emphasized that U.S. arms support is predicated on the assurance that weapons are used in accordance with the &#8220;law of armed conflict.&#8221; He also noted Biden and his team are &#8220;working extremely hard&#8221; to get the hostages out.

Armed men in the West Bank

Biden Adviser Warns ‘Elevated Risk’ Of Broader Middle East Conflict

Biden Adviser Warns 'Elevated Risk' Of Broader Middle East Conflict

A top aide to President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> said <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hamas">Hamas</a> is impeding plans to evacuate U.S. citizens from Gaza to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/egypt">Egypt</a> as Israeli forces wage war on the group following a terrorist attack in Israel last weekend.
CNN&#8217;s Jake Tapper <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1713548830266835087">asked</a> U.S. National Security Adviser <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-adviser-confronted-over-touting-quiet-middle-east">Jake Sullivan</a> on Sunday why the Biden administration can&#8217;t tell Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi to open the border to let Americans out of the embattled strip.
&#8220;We have told President Sisi to open the border to let Americans out. The situation there at the crossing is actually more complicated. The Egyptians have in fact agreed to allow Americans to depart, to get safe passage through the Rafah Crossing,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;The Israelis agreed to ensure that the area around there would be safe as far as they were able to do so. The question — when we tried to move a group yesterday was actually Hamas taking steps to try and stop that from happening.&#8221;
An estimated <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-war-gaza-strip/card/u-s-estimates-up-to-600-americans-in-gaza-XzlzyGWQCFHThTD8sqge">500-600 Americans reside</a> in the Gaza Strip, and some who have tried to leave said they were stuck at the border, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/14/world/middleeast/gaza-egypt-border-crossing-israel.html">according to The New York Times</a>. Meanwhile, Israel&#8217;s military has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/idf-urges-gazans-to-evacuate-as-hamas-blocks-escape-route-our-war-is-not-with-the-people-of-gaza">urged</a> civilians inside northern Gaza to evacuate ahead of an expected ground offensive, but Hamas <a href="https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-hamas-war-c8b4fc20e4fd2ef381d5edb7e9e8308c">reportedly told</a> people to ignore the warning.
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Sullivan said the Biden administration is working &#8220;around the clock&#8221; to ensure that American citizens are able to get through the border crossing.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken &#8220;is in Egypt today meeting with the president of Egypt. This is at the top of his list, to help get those American citizens out of Gaza,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;Anyone who is a U.S. citizen should have the right to free passage through there and then have the U.S. government facilitate their travel home.&#8221;
Officials have reported more than 1,300 people in Israel have been killed in the attacks and roughly 3,200 more injured.  At least 27 Americans died in the attacks. Dozens of others are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/08/europe/israel-hostages-hamas-what-we-know-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">believed to have been taken hostage</a> by Hamas, with U.S. citizens believed to be among them.
In addition to efforts to assist U.S. citizens flee Gaza, officials have been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-to-evacuate-americans-wanting-to-leave-israel-by-sea-embassy-says">working to help</a> Americans evacuate Israel as its forces fight Hamas and Hezbollah <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/one-killed-in-renewed-hezbollah-missile-attacks-idf-restricts-lebanon-border-area/">attacks</a> Israel from the Lebanon border.

Israel Hamas War – Gaza

Hamas Impeding Evacuation Of Americans From Gaza To Egypt, Biden Adviser Says

Egypt

A top aide to President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> defended his assessment that the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/middle-east">Middle East</a> was in a period of relative calm roughly a week before <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hamas">Hamas</a> launched a terrorist attack on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/israel">Israel</a>.
Kristen Welker, moderator of NBC&#8217;s &#8220;Meet The Press,&#8221; had U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on as a guest on Sunday and showed a clip of his statement eight days prior to the violence that drew <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-biden-adviser-bragged-of-quiet-middle-east-one-week-before-hamas-attacked-israel">a wave of criticism</a> on social media.
&#8220;The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades,&#8221; Sullivan said <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/israel-war-middle-east-jake-sullivan/675580/">at the recent The Atlantic Festival.</a> &#8220;Now challenges remain – Iran&#8217;s nuclear weapons program, the tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. But the amount of time that I have to spend on crisis and conflict in the Middle East today compared to any of my predecessors, going back to 911 is significantly reduced.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WATCH: Jake Sullivan said the Middle East is quieter than it’s “been in two decades,” 8 days before Hamas attacked Israel.
Now, he says, the WH never took “its eye off the ball.” Biden met w/ “Netanyahu just weeks before this attack to discuss” Israel’s security challenges. <a href="https://t.co/lr9X2CheTS">pic.twitter.com/lr9X2CheTS</a>
&mdash; Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) <a href="https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1713543842253746615?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Welker asked Sullivan, &#8220;Jake, why was your assessment there so far off the mark?&#8221;
&#8220;Well, first Kristen, I made those comments in the context of developments in the wider Middle East region over the last few years after two decades that involved a civil war in Yemen and a massive humanitarian catastrophe, a civil war in Syria and a massive refugee crisis, an invasion and insurgency in Iraq, a NATO military operation in Libya, Iranian-backed attacks on both Saudi [Arabia] and the UAE, as well as many other steps including the rise of a terrorist caliphate that actually occupied a huge amount of territory,&#8221; Sullivan said.
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&#8220;The sentence before what you just played, I said, in fact, that this was for now, and that it could all change. And the two threats that I identified that were the most acute on my mind at the time, were tensions between Israelis and Palestinians, as I mentioned, and the threat from Iran,&#8221; Sullivan added.
&#8220;And so yes, it is true that those two threats remained a real challenge to the long-term stability of the Middle East region, and we&#8217;ve just seen this absolutely tragic attack,&#8221; Sullivan said. &#8220;But at no point did the Biden administration take its eye off the ball of the threats to Israel. In fact, President Biden saw [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu just weeks before this attack to discuss the security challenges facing the State of Israel, and we&#8217;ve continued to support them to as significant or greater an extent than any previous administration.&#8221;

Biden Adviser Confronted Over Touting Quiet Middle East

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