٠٠:٠٤:٢٩US National Security Council Co-ordinator John Kirby declared that 'patience is running out' in the wait for Venezuelan authorities to provide full and transparent data on the presidential election, during a press briefing in Washington DC on Wednesday.
"Those electoral authorities, which obviously work for Mr Maduro, they need to release the data, the tabulated data, so the world can see exactly what happened here," he proclaimed.
Earlier, Venezuela's National Electoral Council reported that Nicolas Maduro had been re-elected for a historic third term with 51 per cent of the vote to his main challenger Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia's 44 per cent. Following the result – which the opposition rejected – Maduro claimed a 'coup' was being attempted by 'fascists' with links to the US.
The Venezuelan president has since declared that Edmundo Gonzalez and fellow opposition leader Maria Corina Machado should face arrest for stoking nationwide unrest and seeking to unseat his government.
Russia, China, and others congratulated Maduro, while the US said it had 'serious concerns' about the vote. The opposition claimed it won with more than 70 per cent of the votes cast, although it did not provide any evidence.
Kirby emphasised that Venezuelans have taken to the streets to demand that their votes be counted, adding that Washington has "serious concerns about the reports of casualties, violence, and arrests, including the arrest warrants that Maduro and his representatives issued today for opposition leaders."
"We condemn political violence and repression of any kind. And our hearts, of course, go out to all the families that have lost a loved one or are facing injuries they've got to try to recover from," he continued.
Kirby noted that a journalist's question on the US strategy for Venezuela if Maduro's victory is confirmed is a 'terrific hypothetical'.
"We will reserve our rights and our abilities in terms of consequences one way or another based on what we see coming out of electoral authorities in Venezuela," he added.
Addressing growing tensions in the Middle East, Kirby stated that there are 'no signs that an escalation is imminent' in the region, noting that Washington has been monitoring the situation 'very closely' since October 7.
"We have and will maintain a level of readiness to preserve our national security interests in the region," he noted, underscoring that the US does not turn "a blind eye to what Iran is capable of doing and has shown their capability of doing in the region." He also noted that Washington has not ‘demonstrated an unwillingness to defend Israel from threats in the region’.
On the reported assassination of Hamas political leader Haniyeh, Kirby declared that he is 'not in a position to confirm the reports coming out of Tehran' and Hamas. "I can't confirm or verify. We have no independent confirmation. But I can state that I also have no conversations around that reporting that I can speak to today," he explained.
On Wednesday morning, Hamas announced the death of its political leader, who was 'assassinated along with his companion in an Israeli raid on their residence in Tehran', according to a statement released by the group. Haniyeh had been in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Kirby also went on to say that despite the death of the Hamas leader, the US team in the region working towards solving the Middle East conflict ‘want to keep having these conversations’ on a ceasefire deal and ‘believe they're still worth having’.
"We also haven't seen any indications at 2:07 on Wednesday afternoon here, the 31st of July, that the process has been completely torpedoed and isn’t worth pursuing, so we're going to keep pursuing it," he remarked.
The Palestinian Authority and Iran declared three days of mourning, and various countries and groups, including Russia, China, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, the Taliban, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, have condemned the reported assassination.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously indicated that operations against Hamas leaders were part of Israel’s strategy.
Ismail Haniyeh, a founding member of Hamas in 1987, served in several key roles, including as the group's political bureau head and as prime minister of the Palestinian government following Hamas’s 2006 electoral victory.
Kirby says patience 'running out' on Venezuelan election data, claims 'no sign escalation imminent' following Iran, Lebanon strikes
US National Security Council Co-ordinator John Kirby declared that 'patience is running out' in the wait for Venezuelan authorities to provide full and transparent data on the presidential election, during a press briefing in Washington DC on Wednesday.
"Those electoral authorities, which obviously work for Mr Maduro, they need to release the data, the tabulated data, so the world can see exactly what happened here," he proclaimed.
Earlier, Venezuela's National Electoral Council reported that Nicolas Maduro had been re-elected for a historic third term with 51 per cent of the vote to his main challenger Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia's 44 per cent. Following the result – which the opposition rejected – Maduro claimed a 'coup' was being attempted by 'fascists' with links to the US.
The Venezuelan president has since declared that Edmundo Gonzalez and fellow opposition leader Maria Corina Machado should face arrest for stoking nationwide unrest and seeking to unseat his government.
Russia, China, and others congratulated Maduro, while the US said it had 'serious concerns' about the vote. The opposition claimed it won with more than 70 per cent of the votes cast, although it did not provide any evidence.
Kirby emphasised that Venezuelans have taken to the streets to demand that their votes be counted, adding that Washington has "serious concerns about the reports of casualties, violence, and arrests, including the arrest warrants that Maduro and his representatives issued today for opposition leaders."
"We condemn political violence and repression of any kind. And our hearts, of course, go out to all the families that have lost a loved one or are facing injuries they've got to try to recover from," he continued.
Kirby noted that a journalist's question on the US strategy for Venezuela if Maduro's victory is confirmed is a 'terrific hypothetical'.
"We will reserve our rights and our abilities in terms of consequences one way or another based on what we see coming out of electoral authorities in Venezuela," he added.
Addressing growing tensions in the Middle East, Kirby stated that there are 'no signs that an escalation is imminent' in the region, noting that Washington has been monitoring the situation 'very closely' since October 7.
"We have and will maintain a level of readiness to preserve our national security interests in the region," he noted, underscoring that the US does not turn "a blind eye to what Iran is capable of doing and has shown their capability of doing in the region." He also noted that Washington has not ‘demonstrated an unwillingness to defend Israel from threats in the region’.
On the reported assassination of Hamas political leader Haniyeh, Kirby declared that he is 'not in a position to confirm the reports coming out of Tehran' and Hamas. "I can't confirm or verify. We have no independent confirmation. But I can state that I also have no conversations around that reporting that I can speak to today," he explained.
On Wednesday morning, Hamas announced the death of its political leader, who was 'assassinated along with his companion in an Israeli raid on their residence in Tehran', according to a statement released by the group. Haniyeh had been in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Kirby also went on to say that despite the death of the Hamas leader, the US team in the region working towards solving the Middle East conflict ‘want to keep having these conversations’ on a ceasefire deal and ‘believe they're still worth having’.
"We also haven't seen any indications at 2:07 on Wednesday afternoon here, the 31st of July, that the process has been completely torpedoed and isn’t worth pursuing, so we're going to keep pursuing it," he remarked.
The Palestinian Authority and Iran declared three days of mourning, and various countries and groups, including Russia, China, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, the Taliban, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, have condemned the reported assassination.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously indicated that operations against Hamas leaders were part of Israel’s strategy.
Ismail Haniyeh, a founding member of Hamas in 1987, served in several key roles, including as the group's political bureau head and as prime minister of the Palestinian government following Hamas’s 2006 electoral victory.
US National Security Council Co-ordinator John Kirby declared that 'patience is running out' in the wait for Venezuelan authorities to provide full and transparent data on the presidential election, during a press briefing in Washington DC on Wednesday.
"Those electoral authorities, which obviously work for Mr Maduro, they need to release the data, the tabulated data, so the world can see exactly what happened here," he proclaimed.
Earlier, Venezuela's National Electoral Council reported that Nicolas Maduro had been re-elected for a historic third term with 51 per cent of the vote to his main challenger Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia's 44 per cent. Following the result – which the opposition rejected – Maduro claimed a 'coup' was being attempted by 'fascists' with links to the US.
The Venezuelan president has since declared that Edmundo Gonzalez and fellow opposition leader Maria Corina Machado should face arrest for stoking nationwide unrest and seeking to unseat his government.
Russia, China, and others congratulated Maduro, while the US said it had 'serious concerns' about the vote. The opposition claimed it won with more than 70 per cent of the votes cast, although it did not provide any evidence.
Kirby emphasised that Venezuelans have taken to the streets to demand that their votes be counted, adding that Washington has "serious concerns about the reports of casualties, violence, and arrests, including the arrest warrants that Maduro and his representatives issued today for opposition leaders."
"We condemn political violence and repression of any kind. And our hearts, of course, go out to all the families that have lost a loved one or are facing injuries they've got to try to recover from," he continued.
Kirby noted that a journalist's question on the US strategy for Venezuela if Maduro's victory is confirmed is a 'terrific hypothetical'.
"We will reserve our rights and our abilities in terms of consequences one way or another based on what we see coming out of electoral authorities in Venezuela," he added.
Addressing growing tensions in the Middle East, Kirby stated that there are 'no signs that an escalation is imminent' in the region, noting that Washington has been monitoring the situation 'very closely' since October 7.
"We have and will maintain a level of readiness to preserve our national security interests in the region," he noted, underscoring that the US does not turn "a blind eye to what Iran is capable of doing and has shown their capability of doing in the region." He also noted that Washington has not ‘demonstrated an unwillingness to defend Israel from threats in the region’.
On the reported assassination of Hamas political leader Haniyeh, Kirby declared that he is 'not in a position to confirm the reports coming out of Tehran' and Hamas. "I can't confirm or verify. We have no independent confirmation. But I can state that I also have no conversations around that reporting that I can speak to today," he explained.
On Wednesday morning, Hamas announced the death of its political leader, who was 'assassinated along with his companion in an Israeli raid on their residence in Tehran', according to a statement released by the group. Haniyeh had been in Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran's new president, Masoud Pezeshkian.
Kirby also went on to say that despite the death of the Hamas leader, the US team in the region working towards solving the Middle East conflict ‘want to keep having these conversations’ on a ceasefire deal and ‘believe they're still worth having’.
"We also haven't seen any indications at 2:07 on Wednesday afternoon here, the 31st of July, that the process has been completely torpedoed and isn’t worth pursuing, so we're going to keep pursuing it," he remarked.
The Palestinian Authority and Iran declared three days of mourning, and various countries and groups, including Russia, China, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, the Taliban, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, have condemned the reported assassination.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously indicated that operations against Hamas leaders were part of Israel’s strategy.
Ismail Haniyeh, a founding member of Hamas in 1987, served in several key roles, including as the group's political bureau head and as prime minister of the Palestinian government following Hamas’s 2006 electoral victory.