Excerpt from the U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing

Egypt

QUESTION: On Egypt?

MS. HARF: Yes.

QUESTION: The authorities issued a warning today over sit-ins in response to protests by the Morsy supporters. Does the United States have an opinion on that? Does this - is this consistent with U.S. values on freedom of assembly?

MS. HARF: Well, we've continued to urge the interim government officials and security forces to respect the right of peaceful assembly. That obviously includes sit-ins, so we've made that point publicly and privately, and we'll continue to do so.

QUESTION: Was it communicated specifically in this instance?

MS. HARF: I don't know about these specific demonstrations that we're referring to, this specific sit-in, but we've, broadly speaking, made that point from the very beginning and will continue to do so.

QUESTION: Senators McCain and Graham say they're going to Egypt in the coming days at the request of the White House. Presumably the State Department knew something about this when - or maybe they were the conduit for the - not invitation, but for the suggestion that they might go. Can you tell us what the Administration is hoping to get out of this visit?

MS. HARF: Well, as we've said, we're continuing to consult closely with Congress on Egypt. On this specific issue, I'd refer you to the White House for details about any conversations that they might have had on this visit specifically.

QUESTION: Well, can you tell us about any conversations the State Department might have had with these two senators?

MS. HARF: I don't have any information on that. I'm happy to look into it and see what I can provide.

QUESTION: Do you know if there were conversations?

MS. HARF: I do not, Matt. I do not. But again --

QUESTION: Okay. So if you could find out, that would be great.

MS. HARF: Absolutely. And again, I would reiterate, in all of our conversations with Congress, people who are interested and involved in this topic, we've pressed the same points about what we want to convey to the Egyptians.

QUESTION: All right. And then also on Egypt --

MS. HARF: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: -- I presume that you're happy, elated, jumping for joy that the Senate rejected Senator Paul's amendment?

MS. HARF: Well, we've been clear that we believe the continued provision of assistance to Egypt - obviously consistent with our legal obligations - is important to our national security interests and to our goal of advancing Egypt back towards an inclusive democratic process. And our position on that has not changed.

QUESTION: Sorry, consistent with your legal -

MS. HARF: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: You believe you're legally obligated to provide aid to Egypt?

MS. HARF: No, consistent with our obligations under the law.

QUESTION: The law that you chose not to apply, right?

MS. HARF: Consistent with our legal - no. This --

QUESTION: Consistent with your decision not to apply the law that would apply in this case?

MS. HARF: We are working with Congress and will continue providing assistance to Egypt, and as we do that, it will be consistent with the law. That's why we're continuing to work with Congress on it going forward.

QUESTION: But consistent with the law that you have decided not to use in this case, correct?

MS. HARF: I would disagree with your characterization --

QUESTION: Would you?

MS. HARF: -- of that.

QUESTION: Okay.

MS. HARF: Yes, I would.

Yes.

...

QUESTION: And you would encourage President - you would encourage people to take a look at the unfiltered non-Assad Instagram --

MS. HARF: Unfiltered photos of what's actually happening on the ground.

QUESTION: Okay. So, and you would presumably use - have the same advice in other countries, in other places?

MS. HARF: I'm not sure exactly what you're referring to.

QUESTION: Well, I'm just asking, would you encourage people to look at un-glossed - at unfiltered photos of things going on on the ground in places, say, like Egypt where the army has killed several hundred, or at least more than a hundred Muslim Brotherhood supporters.

MS. HARF: Well, I'm not going to equate any of those situations. But obviously we --

QUESTION: Well, I'm not trying to equate Syria to Egypt at all.

MS. HARF: Okay.

QUESTION: I'm just wondering if you all - I mean, have you - in response to the question, you said you weren't sure if the State Department was following, but you --

MS. HARF: I don't - I would guess we're not --

QUESTION: Well, then how do you know that this is a glossy PR stunt?

MS. HARF: Because we've obviously seen it.

QUESTION: Ah, okay. So you have looked at it?

MS. HARF: But there - "following" is a technical term on Instagram, and I am not on Instagram, but it's my understanding that if you follow someone, that's a technical Instagram term. I'm sorry, that's what I was referring to.

QUESTION: Okay.

MS. HARF: We've obviously seen the photos.

QUESTION: You've looked at the pictures?

MS. HARF: I've seen them, and they're despicable.

QUESTION: Okay. And have you --

MS. HARF: And they're not indicative of the horrific situation on the ground that he's causing for his own people.

QUESTION: Okay. Have you looked at the photos and the video of the army shooting people in Egypt?

MS. HARF: I know we've taken a look at the situation on the ground and we've been clear that we - again, not equating by any means the situations --

QUESTION: No, I'm just asking.

MS. HARF: -- but we've been clear that violence is not acceptable.

Yes.

Zimbabwe

QUESTION: On Zimbabwe, please, for the South African Broadcasting Corporation, could I ask for your reaction to the election so far and whether we can expect a shift in U.S. policy or sanctions should SADC or the African Union declare it a free and fair election?

MS. HARF: Yes. Thank you for the question. As you know, elections are ongoing at this point. The polls are still open, I believe, if I have my time zones correct, so I don't want to get too far ahead of the process. We've been clear that the people of Zimbabwe, like people everywhere, deserve the right to elect their leaders through peaceful, transparent, and credible elections.

Early reports from the U.S. Embassy observation team and other accredited observers, and also on social media, indicate that most polling stations opened on time, they are efficiently processing voters, and that they're operating in a peaceful environment. Again, I don't want to get too far ahead of the process because the polls are still open, but I think that's where we stand now, and we'll probably have more of an update for you tomorrow.

QUESTION: Sorry, just to follow up --

MS. HARF: Yes. Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: -- if signs are encouraging, then could we expect to see a shift in U.S. policy?

MS. HARF: Well, we've made clear to the Government of Zimbabwe and the region that further reductions in our sanctions will only occur if this round of elections, these next elections, are credible, transparent, and reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people. So I'm not going to pass judgment on an ongoing election, but we've made clear what has to happen in order for further reduction in sanctions.

QUESTION: There's - just following up now, it seems that there's not been much violence as far as the reports have gone. I mean, the conduct so far of the election - is there a characterization that you have of it, of so far whether it's been stable and peaceful?

MS. HARF: Well, I wouldn't want to use those terms, but again, to go back to what I said, the early reports from the U.S. Embassy observation team and other observers in social media do indicate that most polling stations opened on time and that they are efficiently processing voters and that they are operating in a peaceful environment. So that's the situation on the ground as I know it, and again, we'll have more for you tomorrow, I'm sure.

Nigeria

QUESTION: On Nigeria there are reports out this morning that 45 people were killed in Boko Haram attacks in northern Nigeria a couple days ago. Can you give us an update on what the U.S. is doing to help Nigeria's counterterrorism efforts?

MS. HARF: Yes. Let me see. I don't have anything specific on our counterterrorism efforts or how we're working with the Nigerians. I'm happy to look into that and get back to you. Obviously, we strongly condemn the violence. We've said that repeatedly. But let me see if I can get a little more information that I can share about that issue.

QUESTION: And can you comment on why Boko Haram hasn't been designated as a foreign terrorist organization?

MS. HARF: I don't have anything for you on that. Again I'm happy to look into it.

Egypt

QUESTION: Okay. Sorry, can I just go back to Egypt for one second?

MS. HARF: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: What would the effect be of Senator Paul's amendment on Egypt aid?

MS. HARF: What would the effect be?

QUESTION: Yeah.

MS. HARF: The - I believe --

QUESTION: On Egypt.

MS. HARF: -- you said that it did not pass --

QUESTION: I know.

MS. HARF: Okay.

QUESTION: You didn't support it, so I'm wondering why or what the effect would have been had it passed.

MS. HARF: Well, I'm not going to comment on a hypothetical. We believe --

QUESTION: What was the reason that you opposed that legislation?

MS. HARF: We believe that the continued provision of assistance to Egypt is in the U.S. national security interest.

QUESTION: Do you believe that adding more sanctions to the - adding more sanctions on Iran right now would be harmful or helpful to getting the new - their new leadership back to the negotiating table once they take power?

MS. HARF: I'm not going to take a position one way or the other on any new sanctions on Iran at this point.