By addressing the atrocities the Iranian Regime has committed against its own people. On november 16th, protests were spreading throughout the country and in the city of southwest iran, a number of iranian demonstrators blocked a road. The state department has received videos of what happened next. Without warning, the irgc opened fire on the protesters, killing several people. Many of the protesters fled to nearby marshlands to escape. The irgc tracked them down and surrounded them with machine guns. They then sprayed the protesters with bullets. Between the rounds of machine gunfire, the screams of the victims can be heard. In this one incident alone, the regime murdered as many as 100 iranians and possibly more. When it was over, the regime loaded the bodies into trucks. We do not yet know where these bodies went. But we are learning more and more about how the Iranian Regime treats its own people. We have seen reports of many hundreds more killed in and around tehran, and as the truth is trickling out of iran, it appears the regime could have murdered over 1,000 iranian citizens since the protests began. We cannot be certain because the regime blocks information. Among those murdered are at least a dozen children, including 13 and 14 yearolds. We have received reports from family members of victims who tried to recover the bodies. The authorities demanded that the Families First pay the cost of the bullets they used. In many cases, authorities would not hand over the bodies until their family promised not to hold public funerals. Many thousands of iranians have been wounded and at least 7,000 protesters have been detained in irans prisons. Many of these protesters have been sent to two prisons. The great tehran penitentiary, and garcark prison. Weve decided these meet the criteria for gross violations and the state department is submitting to congress the names of these entities. The great tehran penitentiary is known for its inhumane Living Conditions which consist of unsanitary and crowded quarters, rodent infestations, insufficient food, water and medical care. They have seen reports that protesters have been subject to abuse and mistreatment during interrogations, arbitrary beatings, and rape. Garchuck prison is irans largest womens prison and also holds many members of religious minority communities. It too is known for unbearable conditions, including regular assaults and inappropriate behavior of guards toward women, chronic lack of water, unsanitary Living Spaces and an environment that enables rape and murder. The United States calls for the Immediate Release of all protesters detained in prison, as well as all the Political Prisoners currently held by the regime. Now is the time for all nations to stand with the iranian people. Diplomatically isolate the regime and sanction those officials who are responsible for murdering innocent iranians. There has been overwhelming support for the iranian people by the american people. It is clear there is a bipartisan consensus that the regimes treatment of the iranian people is abhorrent and unacceptable. We are unified here in the United States in the International Community, likewise, should be unified and support the iranian people. These protests have made clear what secretary pompeo and i have been saying for quite some time, the iranian people want the regime to focus on investing in people, not proxies. They are sick of the regime squandering its wealth on proxy we warfare, which leads only to economic pressure and diplomatic isolation. Unfortunately, this is exactly what the Iranian Regime continues to do, even while the iranian people were filling the streets calling for an end to sectarian adventurism. On movie 25th, a u. S. War ship conducted a flag verification boarding in International Waters off the coast of yemen. We enter diktd a significant hoard of weapons and missile parts evidently of iranian origin. As you can see from the images behind me, the seizure includes sophisticated weapons, sophisticated deponents of antiship cruise missiles, land a stack cruise missiles, air defense missiles, and antitank missiles. The vessel reported by was heading to yemen to deliver these weapons. The weapon components comprised the most sophisticated weapons seized by the u. S. Navy to date during the yemen conflict. I want to congratulate the u. S. Armed forces and the u. S. Coast guard for this important enter diction. This discovery is yet more proof of irans efforts to inflame conflicts in the region by proliferating Deadly Weapons to its proxies. It is so further evidence of how iran repeatedly violates the u. N. Arms embargo, which has been in place for over a decade. We should recall that the houthis proposed a cessation of missile and air attacks with saudi arabia just days after the iranians struck saudi oil snaugzs on september 14th. The houthis deescalation proposal which the saudis are responding to, shows that iran clearly does not speak for the houthis, nor have the best interest of the yemen people at heart. Iran is trying to prolong yemens civil war to project power. Iran should follow the calls of its own people and end its involvement in yemen. The yemen people have suffered far too long and iran has no legitimate interest in yemen. Also relating to yemen, i am announcing today that the state departments awards for Justice Program is offering up to 15 million for information on the financial activities, networks and associates of shiali. He is a high ranking commander of the kuds force. This is a part of the rewards for Justice Program for information leading to the disruption of irgc operations. Shilahi has a long history of attacks against americans and our allies globally. He planned multiple assassinations of Coalition Forces in iraq, provided weapons and explosives to violent groups and planned the january 2007 attack that filled five american soldiers and wounded three years. In 2011 shilahi funded and directed a plot to assassinate the saudi ambassador to the United States. This would have been carried out in a restaurant in georgetown. He also aimed to carry out followon attacks in the United States and elsewhere. Had this scheme succeeded, as many as 200 innocent civilians in the United States could have been killed. Given shilahis track record of terrorism and destabilization in iraq, we remain gravely concerned about his presence in yemen and potential role in providing advanced weaponry of the kind that we have inteldicted. Key civilian and economy interests to be threatened. This designation, together with the recent enter diction in yemen, underscores our commitment to deny iran to run an expansionist foreign policy. We call on the International Community to join us in Holding Iran Accountable for its acts of terror, both against the nations of the world and against the iranian people. I want to close on one observation about the protests. The Iranian Regime keeps losing major constituencies in its revolutionary base. First the students, then the middle class, and merchants, then the working class, and even many of the clergy who criticize the regime. Now in the latest protests, nine seminaries were burned. The only support left for the regime is with a handful of clerics, whom the iranian people despise for having imposed 40 years of brutality on them. The regime now maintains its grip on power through brut force. I can take a few questions. Just briefly, on the incident that you mentioned at the very top, you said the video. Was this video that was sent to you after the secretary made his appeal . Yes. So it was sent through that secure right. And we received at last count over 32,000 people have submitted the same thing, though . Were going through all of it, but thats how many we received. More than 32,000. But so far this is the most egregious incident . Yes. And then you said that its possible that more than 1,000 people have been killed total since the protests began. Thats quite a lot higher, that figure is a lot higher than other numbers that have been floating around. What do you base that on . Well, this is based on its a collection of crowd sourcing intelligence, intelligence, reports from groups that have been publishing the death toll. As the regime has slowly restored the internet, we have nor videos and more information leaking from the country. So we know for certain it is many, many hundreds. And if you remember, in the 2009 green revolution, which i think lasted for ten months, you had, if memory serve, 72 people who were killed. And we are now at the many hundreds, perhaps over 1,000. And we had protests in 100 cities and we saw how the regime responded. The Supreme Leader referred to his own people as thugs. And this was a brutal crackdown. And so as more information comes in, we will continue to update you on the numbers, but thats what we have now. You just said we had protests in 100 cities. Youre not suggesting that im saying we saw, yes. Two questions. One of the ways that you promised to help the protesters was to reconnect the internet. What happened to that . Is this something that youre considering again . And sec, yesterday in a tweet you mentioned that the Iranian Regime is targeting journalists inside and outside. Inside is understood. But outside, do you have any evidence that actually theyre targeting iranianamerican journalists in the United States or what are you doing to support them here, if it happens . Well, the Iranian Regime has a welldocumented history of murdering and harassing journalists. If you look at the committee to protect journalists, they have on their count the regime has killed four journalists over these many decades. Were in regular touch with journalists and theyre not only harassing journalists, theyre harassing their families. Those who have connections to family in iran, theyre also harassing their families, which is a tradition of this regime, that if they want to get to people who are outside of iran, they threaten the people that are still in iran. So we have been condemning the regime for its harassment of journalists, theyve jailed journalists and murdered journalists. And so when you look at the constitution of iran, it guarantees basic freedoms, freem of of assembly, freedom of press, freedom of speech. And the regime is not only not protecting them, theyre violating them. What was your first again. About the internet. Ive said as much as i can on the journalists. On the first thing, on the internet do we have any examples that ive said everything that there is to say on the subject. Ive identified the Media Outlets by name. Thats pretty impressive. Everything . No, im saying that i have identified by name the Media Outlets and the journalists who are being harassed. Its very clear. Im going to leave it as what ive said. And on the internet, yes, this was an unprecedented shutdown of the internet f one of the things that ill point out is that iran is in a tough spot, because whenever they shut down the regime, we live in an ecommerce economy, and when you shut down your internet, youre shutting down your economy as well. So they can only do this sort of trick for so long. It was an unprecedented shutdown of the internet and there was Enormous Economic consequences for them and theyre already struggling economically, thats why theyre having to raise the price of gas and ration gas. And so shortly after i came into this role, we worked to get tools into the hands of the iranian people that would allow them to communicate with each other in despite of regime efforts to shut that down. And we do know that tens of thousands of iranians have used these tools that we have helped to facilitate communication. After every protest we go through and do an inventory of Lessons Learned so that we can be more responsive to the iranian people. Thank you so much for doing this. Could you give us your assessment of who really is responsible for organizing the protests in 100 different cities, how organized is the uprising regionally, and also, what is your assessment of the exiled Mek Organization with their connectivity to demonstrators in various cities . The regime, in the green revolution, in 09, decided that the best tactic it can use to prevent people from organizing is to sheer off the bravest of the protesters, arrest them and kill them. And so look, they even jail and murder environmentalist when they organize, like the Wildlife Foundation and the canadian who was arrested. The iranians claim he committed suicide. Its much more likely that they killed him in jail. This is somebody who is trying to promote wildlife protection. And so whether its the environment or whether its labor unrest or unrest about corruption and squandering their wealth on foreign adventures, the regime follows the same tactic of preventing any organized opposition. But what weve seen with the recent protests, this is the worst political crisis the regime has faced in its 40 years. And my observation at the end pointed out that in every decade this regime has been in power, it keeps losing larger segments of its society. So there isnt a monolithic organization, its an uprising thats wider and chaotic and across society . Well, i dont have any comment on whether theres a specific group that is doing this. But the fact that you saw protests across so many different cities. And i would also just point out none of these protests are against the United States. This is sort of a regular ka nard that i hear that the sanctions are going to unify the iranian people and theyre going to rally around the regime. It hasnt happened. There are no protests against the United States. All of these protests are directed at a corrupt religious mafia that has been terrorizing its own people for 40 years. I dont have any comments on specific groups. One more question . Yes, one more question. Nice to see you, brian. Has the u. S. Seen this video thats been submitted by european members of the u. N. To the secretary general of a flight test of a Ballistic Missile capable of delivering a Nuclear Weapon and what is the u. S. Reaction to that . Is this in reference to the e3 letter that went out yesterday . The e3 decided to, at best i can tell from the letter, condemn irans violations well, i think the e3 said that theyre consistent with irans obligations under resolution 2231. So in response, foreign minister zarif said they are going to continue their activities related to Ballistic Missiles. So we already have a response that we will continue with their Ballistic Missiles and space launch vehicles. One of the many deficiencies of the Iran Nuclear Deal is that it ended the prohibition on irans Ballistic Missile testing. That was one of the concessions that was made. It was a mistake. And we are trying to restore that, among other things. The u. N. Standard of no enrichment, and we need to renew the u. N. Arms embargo that expires in about ten minutes and the travel ban on the iranians that are going to be lifted under the iran deal. So i think we have seen an expansion of irans Ballistic Missile proliferation and missile testing during the life of the Iran Nuclear Deal and we are trying to reverse those gains. We are trying to reverse many of the gains that iran has made on its Missile Program and regional aggression over the last many years. That will do it. Thanks. American history tv on cspan 3 looks at the impeachments of president s nixon and clinton. Sunday, starting at 6 00 p. M. On oral histories. Former u. S. Representatives trent lost and Elizabeth Holtz man reflect on their experience serving on the House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment inquiry of president Richard Nixon. Heres a guy that had an influence on my decision to run for office and was helpful in my winning and that i looked up to as the president , and i wound up then having to sit in judgment on him and eventually even having to say that i would vote for an article of impeachment. Then at 8 00, we look at the impeachment of president bill clinton with a portion of the 1988 House Judiciary Committee debate. I think you denigrate the rule of the senate which has the Important Role to weigh the evidence and study what it wants and agree and disagree, and then our Founding Fathers made it extraordinarily difficult to eliminate a president from office by requiring a twothirds vote, and thats why i have always said, unless this is done bipartisanly and tragedy theres no doibipartisanship he. But im hopeful if it gets to the senate there would be bipartisan. But absent that, there would be no god help other president s. Explore our nations past on American History tv. This weekend, the impeachments of president s Richard Nixon and bill clinton. President trump met with the representatives of the u. N. Security council and invited reporters in. While they were in the room, the president talked about his recent visit to london for the nato summit an