STAFF: Call is scheduled for 30 minutes. And to allow as many of you as possible time to ask a question, I'd ask that you keep your follow-ups to a minimum and please keep your microphones on mute unless you are asking a question.

And with that, I'll turn it over to our senior defense official to start us off. Sir, over to you.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Thanks, Mac. Good afternoon, good evening, everybody. This -- I appreciate the opportunity to be with you to discuss the upcoming U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council defense working groups, which are set to take place on May 22nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

I'm looking forward to co-chairing these defense working groups alongside civilian and military colleagues from across the Department of Defense. We'll have representatives of Joint Staff, CENTCOM, NAVCENT, AFCENT, the Missile Defense Agency, and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. And together, we're going to aim to advance U.S.-GCC cooperation and multilateral integration against shared air and maritime threats.

I'm very grateful to Saudi Arabia for hosting us and to the Assistant Secretary General for Military Affairs of the GCC, General Eisa Rashid Al Mohannadi, who will be co-chairing the working groups with me. And these are going to be very important conversations with our Gulf partners.

Now, on behalf of Secretary of Defense Austin, I'm out here in the region to reiterate the U.S. commitment to security of the region and our Gulf partners, which we've repeatedly demonstrated in practice during the last tumultuous months.

The 2024 U.S.-GCC defense working groups are rooted in the U.S.-GCC strategic partnership and will build off the progress we made in the last round -- the last iteration of these working groups in February of 2023 to strengthen cooperation on integrated air and missile defense and including increased early missile warning data-sharing.

These conversations are really more important than ever. As we all know, the region is experiencing one of its most challenging periods in recent years. Threats from Iran and its proxies are pervasive, demonstrated by an unprecedented number of Iran-backed attacks since October, such as the 175 Iranian-aligned militia group attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria and Jordan, over 90 Houthi attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea, and more.

In the maritime security working group, we will focus heavily on these Houthi terrorist attacks against international shipping which have used an unprecedented array of anti-ship ballistic missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, one-way attack UAVs, unmanned surface vehicles, and unmanned underwater vehicles.

These attacks endanger freedom of navigation and the lives of innocent mariners. They've resulted in the kidnapping and deaths of innocents, immense property destruction and environmental defoliation, and immense hardship for the peoples of the nations of the Red Sea. Now, these attacks are not just a U.S. problem. They impact the entirety of the region and they have global ramifications.

So we look forward to discussing how we can expand cooperation with our Gulf partners to mitigate the Houthi threat to maritime security. We'll share our assessments of the maritime threats and we'll discuss the multilateral efforts to bolster information-sharing, counter proliferation, ways to increase the effectiveness of combined interdictions, and technologies to increase maritime domain awareness.

The integrated air and missile defense working group takes on new importance in light of the events of April 13th, when Iran launched over 300 munitions against Israel, the largest such missile and UAV barrage that Iran has ever carried out. And this attack really was a watershed moment in the Middle East.

So together with our partners, we, on April 13th, successfully defeated Iran's attack, and that's a stark testament to the value of integrated air and missile defense and its vital importance for regional stability. Iran's attack gave the world the opportunity to see what a partnership with the United States can mean, and it really showcased what we're collectively capable of when we work together on defeating regional security threats.

Ironically, Iran -- ironically, April 13th, which was really a proof of concept of integrated air and missile defense, was ultimately successful in sparking deeper cooperation among our partners. Iran's destabilizing and dangerous behavior has given a newfound urgency and newfound energy to convene this working group and build out the elements of integrated air and missile defense.

So -- and that group will of course also conduct our assessments of the air threats, and that threat in regional security and violate GCC sovereign airspace, and we'll discuss multilateral efforts to counter those threats, with the expansion of air and missile defense early warning systems, sharing of information to ensure a common air picture, and other ways of eroding the effectiveness of Iran's missile and UAV capabilities.

When we convene on May 22, we'll focus on improving U.S. and GCC interoperability and integration to ensure that the region is postured to counter, deter, and defeat air and maritime threats, and ultimately to advance peace and security in the region.

Our basic message as we head into these discussions is we're stronger when we act together. So, thanks, everybody, for joining the call. With that, I'll be very happy to take some questions.

STAFF: Thank you very much, sir, for the opening comments. We'll get started with questions. Our first up is Missy Ryan. Over to you, ma'am.

Q: Hi. Nice to talk to you, senior defense official. I wanted to ask whether or not, as part of this focus on elevating the cooperation and the strength of the air and missile defense, whether or not the United States will be positioning new air defense assets, air missile defense assets in the region temporarily or on an ongoing basis, or whether or not there's any sort of new deployment that you -- of American resources or sales that you could talk about.

And then separately, will there be discussion, or are you having discussions now about the role of GCC member states in helping with Gaza after the conflict? Thanks.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Thanks, Missy. So, I don't have any information to share, any announcements about deployments or posture developments. I will simply say that what the United States has demonstrated, during this period since October 7, is we have the means to flexibly flow assets to the region when that is required.

We have been very forward leaning to ensure that we have the necessary deployments, forces, and assets in place to defend our interests and our partner security. Our partners know that, and we will continue to use that approach outlined in the national defense strategy to ensure that, as needs require, we will have in place what we need and what our partners need to enable us to uphold that commitment.

Gaza is not a particular focus of this meeting. We are engaged separately in discussions with many Arab states about various ways they can contribute to the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and potentially arrangements beyond. But that's not the focus of this meeting.

STAFF: Thank you very much, sir. Next question goes to Ellie Watson with CBS.

Ellie, you out there?

Q: You can go on without me. Thank you.

STAFF: Got you. OK, next question goes to Jared Szuba with Al-Monitor.

Q: Hey, sir. Thanks for doing this. I wondered if you could give us an update. I think last year, the talks, there was general agreement in the region on the problem. But I think there were still some questions among partners in the region about U.S. commitment and why the U.S. can't sort of solve some of these air defense issues on its own, by its own will.

I'm wondering if you can give us some updates on how the talks, where they have progressed since then? And has the Gaza war delayed or had any impact, appreciable impact, on these discussions for regional, integrated air and missile defense? Thanks.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Thanks, Jared. To the second question, no. I started my role as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East in January. And within a very short period of time, I was in touch with the GCC leadership to schedule these working groups. And they've been on the books for, now, three months or so, and just simply picking the date that worked for everybody.

So, we've been working diligently toward convening them, notwithstanding what was happening elsewhere in the region. In many ways, though, I don't think we could have imagined how relevant and particularly timely they are, in light of some of what has happened in the region.

So, particularly in the maritime space, that was already true when we scheduled them, with the Houthi attacks, of course, the coalition, Operation Prosperity Guardian that we've organized, and that we have many partners helping us provide security for international shipping in the Red Sea. That is an element, obviously, of maritime security, as are the coalition strikes, to degrade the Houthis’ capability to conduct those attacks, as are all the means of ensuring early warning and domain awareness to minimize the effectiveness of any such attacks.

These are all real-time, relevant efforts that are underway, that our partners are part of. And so, if anything, those developments have made all of our partners lean forward and be more interested in engaging with us, engaging with each other, to see how we each pool our knowledge and resources, our joint training, and our respective domain awareness to ensure that everybody has greater capability to work to defend against those attacks.

That was true in the maritime space. I mentioned the missile and UAV threats that were evident but presented themselves in a completely different way on April 13, when this mass, large-scale salvo of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and UAVs was launched and almost completely defeated. Perhaps 99% of the munitions that were fired on that day were unsuccessful in reaching their targets.

And that was the result of this extremely integrated and intricate and choreographed coalition effort to, again, pool knowledge, resources, assets, all the results of investments in training and technology, over many years. And so, the relevance of the concept of integrated air and missile defense was proven in real time.

And so, once again, we saw many of our partners really lean forward and showed extreme interest and eagerness to have these discussions. Secretary Austin spoke to a number of his counterparts in the days following the April 13 attack and the successful defeat of that attack, and it was unmistakable how much interest there was among those partners to go further than we've gone before in these discussions and in the work that will follow.

STAFF: OK, thank you very much, sir. Over to Haley Britzky with CNN, please.

Q: Hi, thanks so much for doing this. I'm curious, and this is kind of a follow up on Jared's question, but are you -- can you kind of speak to the discussions, if any, that will be had about advancing air defense cooperation between Israel and the Gulf states, given obviously what we saw in April?

And then secondly, regarding the Houthi attacks, obviously those have continued as recently as just this weekend. So I mean, what is your sense on, I guess, how successful it is that we talk about deterrence and Prosperity Guardian, given that just a few days ago they were still striking commercial vessels? Thanks.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: You know, these talks are with our GCC partners, and they are part -- they're derived from the U.S. GCC strategic partnership that was launched a number of years ago. And so, that's the focus of these talks. Obviously, we have cooperation with many countries across the region. Israel, of course, is very much among them regarding air and missile defense, and we, of course, work very closely with Israel on the April 13 defense, and over time, we think the more integration there is in the region, in this domain, the better for everybody.

The focus of these talks is with the GCC. As for the Houthi attacks, it is true that they continue. It is also true that we feel, through our coalition strikes, we degraded their capability. We've also interdicted weapons that have been shipped to them for resupply. But this is not a resolved issue yet. It's also an issue that really is a global concern.

And so, we continue multiple lines of effort with our whole interagency, our whole government, to find other ways of putting pressure on the Houthis through sanctions and designation as a specially designated terrorist organization, through UN condemnations of the violence and terrorism that they're conducting.

And then -- and the two coalitions, the Operation Prosperity Guardian for defense of maritime traffic through the Red Sea, and Bab al-Mandab and Gulf of Aden, our strike coalition. So, there's a lot of work to do, a lot of partners working on it, but there's no doubt this is a terrorist organization that is well armed and that has committed itself to this course of violence, and that is well supplied by Iran. And so, this is an effort that, unfortunately, we will need to continue to work on.

STAFF: OK, thank you, sir. Next question goes to Joseph Haboush, Al Arabiya.

Q: Thank you. A question on the maritime threats and the Houthi attacks. Will you guys be looking to get some support? I mean, in recent months or ever since Prosperity Guardian -- Operation Prosperity Guardian, multiple countries out there were reluctant to publicly, you know, take part in any of this. So as you mentioned, that is not just a U.S. problem, are you guys going to be looking for some tor- -- some site -- some type of public support or increased support from the GCC countries?

And then secondly, can you just elaborate a bit on the -- you know, the IAMD progress that's been made in recent months? It's something that successive administrations have been working on and trying to increase among, you know, the CENTCOM partners. So I mean, how has the development of, you know, these Iran-backed militias across the region impacted these efforts, or increased the need for improved, you know, integrated air and missile defense across the area? And have any -- you know, these country -- GCC countries, have they made any specific asks following these upticks -- uptick in attacks? Thank you.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: So you know, we do have members of Operation Prosperity Guardian who are publicly acknowledged and other who have chosen not to be. We have definitely appreciated the support of GCC partners in that coalition, and we deferred to each country to make its own decisions about how it describes its participation. Obviously, and to -- you know, as I sort of alluded to in the previous answer and the previous question, the effort continues because the need continues, because the Houthi terrorist strikes continue. So to that extent, there's work to do by all parties, obviously including those in the region who are very much affected by this violence to try to diminish its impact and bring it to an end.

So part of what we're working on in these working groups is how to ensure that everybody has the information and everybody has the awareness, and that we pool the knowledge and technology and intelligence and effort to minimize the impact of such threats when they do occur, even as we also try to bring them to an end.

On the integrated air and missile defense, you know, this is an ongoing and iterative effort, and so there are new technologies that -- or new systems that different countries acquire at various times. Once acquired, there are opportunities to integrate them further into the network of such technologies that plug into the missile defense, air and missile defense capability. And the more that information is shared with other partners, which, of course, CENTCOM and AFCENT are very much you know, a partner in doing, the more all of these countries, all of these partners have more ability to address threats when they occur.

So again, each country should speak as it chooses to specific deployments, specific technologies, specific systems, specific commitments. I don't speak for anybody else, but this continues and year-on-year, it's more effective. Year-on-year, there are more elements to this, and particularly coming through the period we are coming through, and particularly after April 13th, the desire and commitment and the impetus to invest even further in those efforts and those technologies, it is really quite profound among all of our GCC and other regional partners, as well.

STAFF: Thanks very much, sir. We've got time for just a couple more. Our next question goes to Noah Robertson with Defense News. Thanks.

Q: Hey, thank you for doing this. I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit more specifically about the desire on air and missile defense, especially after April, to do more integration? I hear you talking about the motivation there, but I'm wondering if you can get a little bit more specific and talk about what sorts of outcomes you expect following the meetings coming up?

And as a second point, I just wanted to reiterate Haley's question, which goes to the -- the impact or the effectiveness of U.S. deterrence regarding Houthi attacks. Could you, besides saying the work is around the interagency and contains more than just the security elements, actually talk about how effective you think that has been so far, and if there needs to be a shift in thinking, given that the attacks continue? Thank you.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I think a main focus of our discussions, although not the only one, but a main focus of our discussions in the IAMD working group will be around upgrading early warning systems. Obviously, the more time a country or a defense, of course, has to address an attack, the more time it has to defend against it and the more it can erode its effectiveness even when it occurs.

And so there are specific technologies and specific initiatives that some of them will -- I'll wait until we are actually meeting for a (inaudible) for our partners to describe that are really focused on that particular aspect of this challenge of increasing early warning. That was definitely part of the secret of the success of April 13th, was the fact that we had early warning and really plan an entire strategy and an entire choreography of how various threats would be addressed, by whom, in what the locations and in what environments. It was very much key to the success of that effort, and that's going to be a very important focus of these discussions.

I don't think I'll be able to say much more than I've said in response to the earlier question on the Houthi strikes, so I'll pause there.

STAFF: Thank you, sir. Last question for the on-background portion, Fadi Mansour.

Q: Hello. Thank you for doing this. I want to follow up on the Prosperity Guardian Operation and attacks by the Houthis. Apart from Bahrain, did you -- are you receiving the type of support you were hoping for from other GCC countries? How satisfied are you so far with the cooperation from the GCC as a whole in countering Houthis attacks?

And then second question, the Houthis have announced recently that they launched attacks in the Mediterranean against shipping bound to Israel. Are you able to -- to speak about their capabilities in terms of launching attacks in the Mediterranean? And is it -- is this a concerning issue for you? Thank you again.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Well, again, I'll let each country speak to its own contributions. We, I think, are very pleased about the coalition and about the work of the coalition. Having said that, there's more to do, all of us, members of the coalition, even those countries in and out of the region that are not yet part of the coalition. All should recognize that the challenge requires additional work. And so we want to continue to strength the coalition. That goes without saying. And obviously we also would want to do that until we bring this threat to an end.

And regarding the threat, you know, the Houthis have an advanced array of weaponry. There's really no precedent for the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles the way they are doing. They launched missiles at great distance, and I think they have weapons that could reach the Mediterranean.

I'm not aware of any particular strikes into that region yet but it definitely is of concern that they have that capability. It's a completely illegitimate course of action that they are engaged in. There's no justification for it whatsoever.

And it's a kind of, you know, maritime terrorism that the entire world has an interest in seeing brought to a close. It simply poses such a grave risk to the foundational international principle of freedom of navigation with all the impacts it has on economic impacts, environmental impacts, health and safety impacts for innocents and for property, that there's really no conceivable justification for it under any circumstances.

And so we know it has to continue to be addressed until it stops.

STAFF: All right, thanks very much, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the on-background portion of today's briefing. As a reminder, attribution for today's briefing is to a Senior Defense Official. We have a few minutes left for a few off-record questions. As a reminder, these responses are not attributable and for your information only.