Yesterday afternoon Rick Stengel – the State Department’s Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy – responded to recent terrorism in Saudi Arabia with a tweet highlighting Iranian FM Zarif as a “Muslim leader” who pushes for regional unity against terrorism [a]. That’s in line with how the State Department has long characterized Zarif: last summer Secretary Kerry was asked about Arab countries’ calculations, and he responded by also highlighting Zarif as a diplomat trying to promote regional unity: “I just got a message today from my counterpart from Iran. He’s in Beirut meeting with the government officials there… He was in Kuwait and in Qatar. He’s reaching out to those countries” [b].

But Iran is the opposite of a force against terrorism: the State Department recently assessed it remains the world’s top state sponsor of terrorism [c]. It’s also the opposite of a force for regional unity: the Iranians are in a confrontation with the Saudis that’s gone global [d], Tehran boasts about controlling four Arab capitals in the Middle East [e], and Iranian-backed militias just kidnapped 900 civilians and executed 50 in Iraq [f].

Zarif’s calls for regional unity against terrorism – the ones the State Department keeps highlighting – are explicitly aimed at boosting those Iranian policies. When Zarif called for unity in Beirut – this is the statement Kerry praised by name – the full statement called for countries to unify specifically against Israel and “terrorism” [g]. And even when he says terrorism he doesn’t mean Iranian teror groups like Hezbollah – who he hails as “heroes in the entire Middle East” [h] – but Sunni groups backed by Iran’s rivals [i].

Reporters at today’s State Department briefing pressed spokesperson Kirby on Stengel’s tweet and – more generally – on why the administration is promoting Iran’s top diplomat as a pro-unity anti-terror advocate. A transcript of the exchange is pasted below and the video is clipped at C-SPAN [j]. Some parts to look out for (with the crosstalk removed):

Promoting Iran’s expansionist “concept of Muslim unity” – The Obama administration has sought to integrate Iran into the Middle East’s security framework, which the administration says will boost Iran as stabilizing force, but which critics see as a pretext for Iranian expansionism [k]. Praising Iran’s efforts to unify the region around Tehran risks confirming those fears:

QUESTION: And then what is your understanding of Iran promoting unity among Muslims at a time it has forces in Syria, it supports Hizballah in Lebanon, it has forces involved in some of the worst sectarian strife in Iraq… it has supported a rebellion in Yemen.
MR KIRBY: Right.
QUESTION: So do you think – do you think —
MR KIRBY: I’ve never stood up here and said that… Iran was unifying Muslims in the region.
QUESTION: So is it surprising to you that the under secretary supports the Iranian concept of Muslim unity now?
MR KIRBY: I think that that’s a leap to a conclusion based on —
QUESTION: Well, explain to me, then, what – explain to me what his – he was trying to convey by that tweet.
MR KIRBY: Look, I’m still trying to figure out my own Twitter account…

Promoting Zarif as “a Muslim leader worth quoting” – Kerry has been widely criticized for letting his close personal relationship with Zarif influence State Department policy [l][m]. Those policies have led to tension with other parts of the administration less favorably inclined towards Iran: Treasury, Defense, and even the U.S. mission to the U.N. [n][o][p]. The consistent praise for Zarif is being folded into that controversy:

QUESTION: Well, I mean, he repeated what Foreign Minister Zarif said, but I believe he added his own comments when he said that “Muslim leaders speak out against terrorism.” And that would indicate that he believes that Foreign Minister Zarif is a Muslim leader worth quoting.
MR KIRBY: I would let the under secretary speak for the specific choice of how he crafted his tweet. I – I’m just not going to ever make it a practice of speaking to individual tweets by officials here in the building. What I can tell you —
QUESTION: Well, isn’t he, like, the top-most public diplomacy official in the building whose —
MR KIRBY: No, that would be John Kerry.
QUESTION: Well – okay, well – (laughter.)
QUESTION: Christian leader John Kerry. (Laughter.)
MR KIRBY: But look, guys, you’re —
QUESTION: But I mean someone who’s running the policy or whose… bureau is writing the policy on social media policy of this department.
MR KIRBY: You’re reading way too much into this, way too much into this.

Kirby concluded: “Look, I’m not going to defend each and every tweet sent by officials here… Nothing’s changed, and I think you guys are just reading way too much into it.”

As usual links are at the very bottom, and let me know if you need more resources on this.

Omri.
412-512-7256

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http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2016/07/259402.htm

QUESTION: Can I ask about a curious tweet yesterday – or was it a retweet – by your under secretary for public diplomacy?

MR KIRBY: Sure.

QUESTION: Does the U.S. kind of endorse Iran’s understanding of terrorism and who its victims are now?

MR KIRBY: I think you’re referring to a tweet by Under Secretary Stengel. Look, there’s been – here’s what I’ll say about that: He was citing the views expressed by many Muslim leaders about the attacks in Saudi Arabia. He was not expressing any kind of policy shift by the United States about Iran’s continued state sponsorship of terrorism. Our concerns with respect to that sponsorship remain valid and they remain significant.

QUESTION: All right. He —

QUESTION: But he —

QUESTION: Well, hold on, hold on. He quoted one person, not many Muslim leaders. He quoted the foreign minister of Iran.

MR KIRBY: I understand that.

QUESTION: First of all, do you consider the foreign – you speak a lot about how Muslim – Islam is a religious of peace and Muslim leaders are, by and large, peaceful. Do you believe that now, the foreign minister of the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, is a Muslim leader? Is that a U.S. position?

MR KIRBY: Nothing —

QUESTION: Does he speak for the faith now?

MR KIRBY: I don’t think any one individual speaks for that.

QUESTION: Is he one who speaks for the faith?

MR KIRBY: I’m not qualified to say whether he speaks for the Muslim faith or not, Brad.

QUESTION: Is Rick Stengel qualified?

MR KIRBY: Rick Stengel was simply tweeting out the – yes, they were views expressed by Foreign Minister Zarif, but they were at a representative meeting of Muslim leaders about terrorism. And I didn’t organize that conference, so I can’t speak for how they —

QUESTION: Right. Just one second —

MR KIRBY: — hang on – to how they were invited or by whom or who speaks for what. I’m not a Muslim faith leader myself and I’m in no position —

QUESTION: All right.

MR KIRBY: — to say who is or who isn’t. But look, go look at our countries – our terrorism report. Look at everything that the Secretary has said since getting the Iran deal. We have been nothing but candid and forthright about our consistent concerns over Iran’s state sponsorship of terrorism, which we know they still do.

QUESTION: I’m trying to figure out – I’m going to go through the rest of the tweet. It’s not that long. But I’m trying to figure out why he would even tweet this and you haven’t really explained it to me yet. Do you believe that Iran is a victim of terrorism and not a perpetrator? He – I think it said, “We will remain victims.” Is that your opinion of Iran?

MR KIRBY: Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism.

QUESTION: And then what is your understanding of Iran promoting unity among Muslims at a time it has forces in Syria, it supports Hizballah in Lebanon, it has forces involved in some of the worst sectarian strife in Iraq —

MR KIRBY: Right, yeah.

QUESTION: — it has supported a rebellion in Yemen.

MR KIRBY: Right.

QUESTION: So do you think – do you think —

MR KIRBY: I’ve never stood up here and said that —

QUESTION: Right.

MR KIRBY: — Iran was unifying Muslims in the region.

QUESTION: So is it surprising to you that the under secretary supports the Iranian concept of Muslim unity now?

MR KIRBY: I think that that’s a leap to a conclusion based on —

QUESTION: Well, explain to me, then, what – explain to me what his – he was trying to convey by that tweet.

MR KIRBY: Look, I’m still trying to figure out my own Twitter account, so, I mean – (laughter) – I’m not going to —

QUESTION: Well, I haven’t found a tweet by you that I can do this to yet, so – (laughter) – you’re off the hook. You have to speak for him now.

MR KIRBY: Look, I can’t speak for every tweet sent by every official here, but I can promise you that the under secretary was not diverting from our constant and continued belief that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism.

QUESTION: Well, when you look at your other Muslim allies and you have said, the Secretary has said, others, that we stand together in terms of combating, fighting terrorism, we’re all victims, we’re all one, do you see Iran as part of a anti-terror coalition that you can all join together in?

MR KIRBY: We still see Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism. That hasn’t changed, and until their behavior changes in the region, I don’t suspect our conclusions with that – on that – in that regard are going to change.

QUESTION: So why would the under secretary tweet something kind of giving currency to the idea that Iran and – that the U.S. feels that Iran is in the same vein as some of these other Muslims that you’ve spoken about?

MR KIRBY: I don’t believe that that was his intent at all. He was simply trying to characterize a gathering of Muslim leaders and some of the things that the gathering was concluding about terrorism. There was no intent in the tweet to endorse Iran as a – as a victim of or a defender of – not defender, but a protagonist against terrorism. The U.S. Government’s policy has not changed. This tweet changes nothing about that. We still —

QUESTION: Basically anyone can tweet, it doesn’t mean (inaudible) —

MR KIRBY: We still hold Iran to be a state sponsor of terrorism.

QUESTION: Well, I mean, he repeated what Foreign Minister Zarif said, but I believe he added his own comments when he said that “Muslim leaders speak out against terrorism.” And that would indicate that he believes that Foreign Minister Zarif is a Muslim leader worth quoting.

MR KIRBY: I would let the under secretary speak for the specific choice of how he crafted his tweet. I – I’m just not going to ever make it a practice of speaking to individual tweets by officials here in the building. What I can tell you —

QUESTION: Well, isn’t he, like, the top-most public diplomacy official in the building whose —

MR KIRBY: No, that would be John Kerry.

QUESTION: Well – okay, well – (laughter.)

QUESTION: Christian leader John Kerry. (Laughter.)

MR KIRBY: But look, guys, you’re —

QUESTION: But I mean someone who’s running the policy or whose —

MR KIRBY: You’re —

QUESTION: — bureau is writing the policy on social media policy of this department.

MR KIRBY: You’re reading way too much into this, way too much into this.

QUESTION: But, John, do you believe that you are combining this – all the Muslim leaders under one umbrella and you are bridging the gap between Shias and Sunnis which is going on in the Middle East. It’s – we don’t talk about —

MR KIRBY: I’m bridging the gap between Sunni and Shia?

QUESTION: Yeah. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

QUESTION: No, I’m saying that —

MR KIRBY: Don’t you think you guys are taking this just a little too far?

QUESTION: Well, we’re just – it’s a curious tweet —

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

QUESTION: — in that you’ve now disowned everything he said in the tweet. And he’s the head of your public diplomacy.

QUESTION: No, but he wanted to give currency to the idea, and he did.

MR KIRBY: Look, I’m not going to defend each and every tweet sent by officials here. I can assure you that all he was trying to do was capture the sense of all these leaders about the threat of terrorism and that – and that comment was, I believe, intended to sort of capture that representative view. That doesn’t mean that we hold Iran in some sort of new level in terms of their state sponsorship of terrorism. They’re still a state sponsor. We’re still going to keep sanctions in place to deal with their support for terrorism in the region. We’re still going to keep a robust military presence in the region to counter that, to counter those activities. Nothing’s changed, and I think you guys are just reading way too much into it.

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[a] https://twitter.com/stengel/status/750424215833026560
[b] http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2015/08/245935.htm
[c] http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-security-attacks-idUKKCN0YO2XY
[d] https://www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-arabia-expands-anti-iran-strategy-beyond-middle-083035968.html?nhp=1
[e] http://jcpa.org/article/iran-sanaa-yemen/
[f] http://english.aawsat.com/2016/07/article55353964/u-n-blames-iran-backed-militia-kidnappings-beheadings-fallujah
[g] http://en.alalam.ir/news/1728778
[h] http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/01/11/445381/Iran-Germany-Saudi-Arabia-Zarif-Shamkhani-Schroeder-JCPOA/
[i] http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/full-interview-iranian-foreign-minister-mohammad-javad-zarif-n317516
[j] http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4609150/us-endorse-irans-understanding-terrorism-now
[k] http://www.businessinsider.com/the-startlingly-simple-reason-obama-ignores-syria-2015-6
[l] https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/04/05/top-gop-lawmaker-some-administration-officials-are-too-close-to-tehran/
[m] http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/corker-gop-will-pass-bill-to-block-irans-access-to-dollar/article/2587673
[n] http://freebeacon.com/national-security/obama-admin-battling-internal-war-giving-iran-access-u-s-dollars/
[o] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/obama-proposes-new-military-partnership-with-russia-in-syria/2016/06/29/8e8b2e2a-3e3f-11e6-80bc-d06711fd2125_story.html
[p] http://freebeacon.com/national-security/obama-iranian-missile-deal-violation/]

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