Kirby: Video of Questions About Secret US-Iran Negotiations Deleted

On Wednesday, the US State Department announced that minutes of a press conference video from 2013 regarding secret nuclear negotiations with Iran were deliberately deleted before being posted on the department's website. According to CNN, John Kirby, the spokesperson for the US State Department, stated that a government official requested the deletion of parts of the Q&A session with a reporter from 2013 during a phone call. The State Department posts the spokesperson's press conference video daily on its website. Kirby noted that the technical staff member who deleted part of the video does not remember which government official made the request. The deleted section of the 2013 press conference related to a question about a 2012 press conference in which Victoria Nuland denied any secret negotiations with Iran regarding its nuclear program. When it became clear in 2013 that Iran and the US had engaged in secret negotiations to resolve the nuclear dispute, then-press secretary Jen Psaki admitted that the US government had not been truthful in keeping the negotiations with Iran secret. In response to a Fox News reporter's question about whether Nuland had been truthful regarding the secret negotiations with Iran, Psaki emphasized that diplomacy requires privacy to achieve its goals. Meanwhile, a senior State Department official told CNN that the technical staff member who deleted parts of the video considered the request from the government official to be 'unusual' and sought permission from their supervisor to edit the video. This official stated that although they do not remember the name of the official who requested the deletion, they are certain it was not Jen Psaki. They added that Psaki did not make such a request and was unaware of the matter. Psaki, who is now the White House communications director, also stated on Twitter that she was not informed about this issue. Kirby clarified that the complete video of Psaki's press conference had previously been posted instead of the edited version. He emphasized that the transcript of Psaki's press conference was posted on the State Department's website without any edits at that time. Previously, an interview with Ben Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor, with the New York Times regarding how the nuclear agreement was presented and when discussions with Iran began sparked reactions among Republicans. Rhodes told the New York Times that the Obama administration had worked to ensure that the voices of supporters of the nuclear agreement were heard more to sway public opinion. Three Republican senators wrote a letter to President Barack Obama demanding the removal of Ben Rhodes. In this context, dollars spent on 'supporting and opposing' the nuclear agreement were also discussed.