12:39 p.m. EST
MR PATEL: Good afternoon, everybody. Just one very brief thing before I dive right in. We have special guests in the back. Mr. and Mrs. Williams, welcome to the daily press briefing. I’d be remiss not to take this opportunity to just talk about how much we love and adore your daughter, how she’s the glue that keeps the daily press briefing and the press team together. So thank you for lending her to us and to the Foreign Service. So with that, I’m not sure where our friend is, but Simon, you want to kick us off?
QUESTION: Thanks. I just wanted to ask about the – a couple of different sanctions that were announced earlier today. Could you sort of say a bit about how exactly you think these sanctions are going to impact – they seem to be aimed at Iran-linked proxies. So what is the impact that you see those having, given that – I guess we don’t assume that these groups have assets in the United States. They’re generally able to use intermediaries to route their transactions around, so what impact would we see from this?
MR PATEL: Sure. So are you – we announced to – any specific you – or would like me to start with? Or —
QUESTION: Well, I guess – well, is – more of talking about the Iran-linked proxies.
MR PATEL: Sure. Sure. So just to take a step back for those who might not be tracking, earlier today the Treasury Department’s OFAC designated one Iraqi airline and its CEO for supporting the IRGC Qods Force and Iran-aligned militia groups in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. We’re taking this action now because the IRGC Qods Force and the network of group it supports, they pose a significant threat to the Mideast region; for example, KH has claimed credit for a series of drone and missile attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq, in Syria since Hamas’s horrific attack on Israel on October 7th. We are committed to exposing and taking actions against individuals and groups that abuse their local economies and engage in illegal activities and support terrorist groups destabilizing the regions. Specifically, though, Simon, you know that sanctions are just one of the many levers at our disposal when it comes to holding Iran and some of its proxies accountable for its activities.
QUESTION: Do you have any specific information that these groups that are being targeted do have assets that would be affected? Or is it largely symbolic, to say we’re doing something?
MR PATEL: I would not say that it’s symbolic. As you know, all around the world our sanctions have – excuse me – our sanctions have legitimate and tangible impacts. For example, the Iraqi airline Fly Baghdad has supported the operations of the IRGC Qods Force and Iran-aligned militia groups by delivering materiel and personnel through the region. Fly Baghdad flights have delivered shipments of weapons to Damascus International Airport in Syria for transfer to members of the IRGC Qods Force and Iran militia groups on the ground. So this is just an example of just some of the tangible things that are happening that we hope to be able to disrupt with some of our actions like this.
Matt, come back to you.
QUESTION: No, I was late so I’ll wait.
MR PATEL: Okay.
QUESTION: Sorry.
MR PATEL: Leon.
QUESTION: I’m wondering – the Turkish parliament is – has set up a vote tomorrow, I think, unless I’m mistaken – yeah, I think it’s tomorrow – on the Sweden transition to NATO. Do you have a reaction to that?
MR PATEL: I don’t. We will, of course, let Türkiye’s legislative processes play out before getting ahead of that process, but if you recall, we have not parsed words about how ready we are for Sweden to formally join the Alliance. We have long felt that it has met its commitments, and we look forward to this process moving forward.
Alex.
QUESTION: …
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