A conversation with Thomas “Tommy” Pigott, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department.
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
As we just heard, Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged a big, fast and effective U.S. relief response to Venezuela. He made that remark in Bahrain on a trip to several Gulf nations to discuss the preliminary agreement between the U.S. and Iran. Tommy Pigott was on that diplomatic trip with Secretary Rubio. He is the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State and joins us now. Thanks for being here.
TOMMY PIGOTT: Thanks for having me on.
DETROW: Let’s start with Venezuela, and I want to ask you something that we just heard NPR reporting on. You know, the administration did downplay the importance of foreign aid for more than a year. Why is this different? What else is – do you have to add on that front?
PIGOTT: Well, look, I think a couple of things here – first, when it comes to foreign assistance, what we’ve been clear is that foreign assistance needs to be effective. It needs to go where it’s meant to go, and it needs to be aligned with the U.S. national interests. I think those are principles that are pretty uncontroversial. But unfortunately, what we saw under USAID was often disjointed aid, aid that took longer actually to deploy. And I think an example of this that’s so important is the fact that we were able to stand up at the State Department a task force to respond to this – to these earthquakes instantaneously that had under one roof coordination when it came to assistance, consular services for Americans, coordination with other (inaudible) agencies. We’re seeing that incredibly fast, that incredibly large response to the people of Venezuela to assist.
And I think it’s also important to point out that we also saw this massive response in response to Hurricane Melissa. Hurricane Melissa, we saw that quick response, that coordinated response. So I think the argument we would make – and I think this is borne out by the facts – is that by bringing these programs under the State Department to allow for better coordination, we’re allowed to move quicker, we’re allowed to move more effectively, and we’re allowed to actually deliver assistance to where it’s needed.
DETROW: And you’re not worried about the loss of expertise, the loss of a lot of on-the-ground relationships that could have helped this aid move faster?
PIGOTT: We’re actually seeing an expansion of on-the-ground relationships. I mean, Venezuela, of course, is a powerful example of that. The actions that President Trump took allowed for the development of so many conversations and relationships that did not exist previously, including the establishment of a U.S. embassy in Venezuela that allows us to provide emergency services to American citizens in the region.
But that’s also something that’s replicated across the world. We’re seeing a new type of foreign assistance. We’re building capacity in these nations, building stronger relationships. And fundamentally, this is a bit different than the earthquake example where you have to respond with this assistance in response to a national disaster. But what we see is assistance programs in general fundamentally saying, we’re building your capacity so we can have aid programs that eventually end because they’ve been successful in building capacity to respond.
DETROW: I want to make…
PIGOTT: But of course, in (ph) natural disasters, we’re responding as appropriate.
DETROW: I want to make sure we have time to talk about that trip to the Gulf, but one more question on the earthquakes. The initial money being spent, there are obviously really major immediate needs here. How is the United States thinking about these longer-term issues, the rebuilding, everything that needs to come along with it once search and rescue is done? How focused will the U.S. be on that?
PIGOTT: Well, that’s something that we’re definitely focused on. Of course, the priority now are search and rescue teams, urban search and rescue teams. We’re seeing the deployment of hundreds of personnel, including heavy equipment, in order to assist in that effort. The United States is on the ground. The United States is there. The United States is helping. Of course, we’re also working with our partners in the region, and we’re also delivering humanitarian and medical supplies. So our initial priority is to make sure that we have those search and rescue teams. We’re delivering that assistance, working with the unmatched capability and operational capacity of DOW. And then we’re going to be here. We’re going to help. And that is something that’s demonstrated by the scale of our response.
DETROW: You’re just back from this diplomatic trip to the Gulf. There’s been a lot of skepticism, a lot of worries from leaders of our Gulf allies about this agreement. How did Secretary Rubio respond to those concerns?
PIGOTT: Well, look, as Secretary Rubio said, we’re not going to agree to something that undermines the security of our Gulf allies and partners. He made that incredibly clear at the GCC ministerial meeting, which had our Gulf partners and allies at that meeting. One of the main goals of this trip was to thank our Gulf partners and allies, especially the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain, for their resilience, the support they gave us, the leadership they have shown in the face of Iran’s attacks. We also saw the resumption of operations of our embassy in Kuwait, with Secretary Rubio marking that by raising the flag over the embassy, taking part in that ceremony. So there is productive conversations, a clear message sent that we are not going to agree to something that undermines the security of our Gulf partners.
DETROW: But doesn’t…
PIGOTT: And the alliance and work together is continuing to grow.
DETROW: Doesn’t allowing Iran to continue to have conventional missiles and have more power over commerce in the Strait of Hormuz – doesn’t that undermine their security?
PIGOTT: Well, look, fundamentally, as we saw in the GCC joint statement, we saw a powerful statement that’s saying the GCC members, the United States rejects any circumstance where we’re going to see any sort of fees or tolls or whatever you may call it through the strait. That was clear.
DETROW: But it’s still happening right now.
PIGOTT: Well, it was a clear and unambiguous message that we’re not going to agree to anything that has that. And what we saw, first of all, with Operation Epic Fury was the dismantling of a conventional weapons military shield. The results of Operation Epic Fury have already made the region and the world safer. What we are seeing now is a clear effort to make sure Iran does not rebuild a nuclear program and a clear statement from that joint statement that we’re not going to have a scenario where nations charge tolls or fees for moving through an international waterway.
DETROW: I guess, there’s been a lot of reporting that those Iranian missile levels are the same – relatively the same level as they were before the war began. And as we saw in recent days, it’s still blocking traffic in the strait.
PIGOTT: Well, what we saw through Operation Epic Fury is the decimation of their military capabilities, the conventional shield they were trying to build, their navy, their air force, their defense industrial capacity. We have seen that. We also saw the effects of the blockade and the maximum pressure policy. The president is a dealmaker, and there are clear things he wants to see. There’s no questioning what the president wants to see here, the Iranian regime not having a nuclear weapon. And the secretary’s trip here reinforced the strong partnership that is continuing to grow between the United States and our Gulf allies and partners.
DETROW: When you were last a guest on NPR, you said repeatedly that when it comes to any nuclear agreement, that deal would not be another JCPOA. Many people, including many Republicans, say it’s exactly that. Why are they wrong?
PIGOTT: Well, the vice president outlining many of those reasons – first of all, the context where we are is so important, the decisive results of Operation Midnight Hammer, the decisive results of Operation Epic Fury already making the world safer, obliterating that nuclear program. Also, the provisions that have been so clearly laid out, a conditions-based agreement where any sort of reintegration or other sort of unfreezing of funds, whatever may have you, is based off of actions taken by the Iranian regime. So the context of this is incredibly important. And also the fact that we see a condition-based agreement with those objectives so clearly outlined.
DETROW: Why is the $300 billion reconstruction plan that’s gotten a lot of attention – why is that substantially different than the Obama administration agreement?
PIGOTT: Well, we’re talking about, it’s a conditions-based agreement, a conditions-based based off of actions. And that is so important. When we look at the JCPOA, we saw the sending of cash to the Iranian regime. We saw the Iranian regime with a time-limited agreement that did not really actually substantially address their nuclear program in our opinion. And what we’re seeing now are strong actions from the president of the United States to dismantle their conventional weapons, to obliterate their nuclear program and also to make sure we have an agreement that makes sure they never rebuild that nuclear program.
DETROW: Tommy Pigott, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, thanks so much for joining us.
PIGOTT: Thanks for having me on.
DETROW: After this conversation first ran, U.S. Central Command announced the U.S. conducted strikes on Iran in response to an Iranian drone hitting a commercial cargo ship on Thursday. It’s not clear how these actions impact the ceasefire agreement.
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