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BRENNAN: As I said, I could have gone on and on and on about all the challenges out there. I didn't mention Ukraine; didn't mention a lot of issues related to Russia.

China is a growing power of great economic, political, and increasingly military influence and presence. And clearly, as we look at what's happening in the South China Sea, there is a reason for the United States to pay attention to what China is doing on a number of fronts, which we are. And that's why there's the pivot to Asia or making sure that our allies and partners in that region feel as though, with all the other things that are going on in the world, we have not neglected that area.

I was out in Singapore a couple of weeks ago, along with Ash Carter, at the Shangri-La conference. I met with the heads of the services, intelligence services, from the ASEAN countries, as well as with my Chinese counterpart, as a way to maintain the dialogue and to let them know that the United States treats this region of the world very seriously, and we have very important national-security interests that we're not going step away from. And if anybody thinks we are, they are sadly mistaken.

So what we need to do is to be able to keep our eye on all these balls simultaneously. And this is not an effort to try to contain China. It is an effort to try to make sure that U.S. national-security interests are protected and advanced, as are the national security interests of our allies and partners in the region, and we fulfill our obligations, particularly in the area of freedom of navigation in those seas.

WOODRUFF: Yes, second row over here.

Q: Hello. Christine Vargas, Control Risks. Thank you for being here today.

Another one on Iran. Given the lessening of sanctions, we're seeing a bit of a challenge getting investment into Iran, because European banks are taking a look and saying that financial system doesn't look free of corruption yet; maybe I won't touch it.

Given that dynamic, are you seeing the moderates in politics surviving until such time as those financial benefits come through? And what event could tip the scales in one way or another? Thank you.

BRENNAN: We are going through a transition period from the time when Iran was sanctioned across the board on so many fronts, and that financial institutions and companies adapted to the framework that they were prevented from engaging with Iran.

Now we're transitioning to the new environment in terms of what is allowed under JPOA. And it is an adjustment that needs to be made. And I know that U.S. officials and others are working with the Iranians, as well as with third parties, to make sure that it's understood what is permissible and how these things can be done. That takes some time any time you're going to make a major adjustment like that.

Do I think that the moderates are going to survive during this period of time? Absolutely. I think that the expectations among some within Iran, once the agreement was signed, were quite high that there was going to be immediate relief, as well as immediate dividends, as a result of this.

There were some, but I think there was a lot that this Iranian central government had to do in terms of taking care of some of those structural, strategic, macroeconomic issues in supporting the currency and some other things that they needed to do. And so the effect and impact on individual Iranians is going to take place over time. And we're very much hoping that that impact is going to be felt, certainly sooner rather than later, as a way to validate the course that President Rouhani and others are on.

And so, again, this is going to take a bit of time. I'm sure some people may be frustrated by it. But I know that our government is working to fulfill the obligations that are attendant to the agreement. But this is taking a bit of time.

WOODRUFF: The third row. Yes.

Q: If you'll forgive me an administrative question. My name is-

WOODRUFF: You have to give us-

Q: -Edward Luttwak.

WOODRUFF: -your name and affiliation first.

Q: Edward Luttwak.

WOODRUFF: Yes.

Q: Administrative issue. Years ago I heard you say that there was a need for more language training in the agency. Have you advanced in that direction? Because as I go around the world I encounter your people, and they don't seem to speak the local language. Have you-I mean, you did say you wanted to do it. I'm just curious to know what was done.

BRENNAN: We only let you encounter the people we want you to encounter. (Laughter.) As a way to continue to hide our presence overseas. (Laughter.)

Q: But nobody speaks the local language.

BRENNAN: Well, I go to many stations and to our folks overseas. And they are proficient in a variety of languages. We have a language strategic initiative at the agency where we continue to provide incentives, rewards, recognition for individuals who are able to not just enhance their language, but expand their repertoire of languages. It is something that's critically important. I take your point, and I have made the point that we need to have greater language capability inside of the CIA. But I would say that, given that we are so-we have a global coverage that we need to fulfill. And the list of issues that we have to deal with continues to grow and grow and grow. And resources are finite. We need to be able to spread them around. But having a language capability is going to give us the opportunity that we need in order to fulfill our various missions. And particularly on the HUMINT front it is critically important, so that you're able to have the ability to interact with individuals that you want to be able to work closely with.

WOODRUFF: Right here, this gentleman on the fourth row. Right here, on the aisle.

Q: Director Brennan, Scott Harold from the RAND Corporation. Thank you and the women and men of the CIA for all of your efforts.

I wonder if you could come back to China for a moment. And we've had a new election in Taiwan in January that brought to power the DPP in Taipei. There is signs that China is looking to make that relationship much more difficult, to impose costs. I wonder if you could describe your sense of the growing threat, if you perceive one, from China to Taiwan.

BRENNAN: Well, I think under President Xi Jinping, he has a strategic vision of what he wants to be able to accomplish in the region, whether it is in the seas—as we see with the reclamation that’s taking place and putting new effects on the ground or in the sea—as well as the relationship that he wants with the countries and others in the region. And I think the relationship with Taiwan is a very big one and an important one. And whether or not there is going to be an adjustment in that, I think it is going to be dependent on how Beijing views Taiwan and vice versa. And given that there is a new administration in Taiwan, given that there is a rather important dynamic that is going on in the region with how China is flexing some of its muscles, I think this also is in a period of transition. And I think there is this dynamism.

I think, and it’s not a secret to anybody, that mainland China views Taiwan in a very special way. And I think it has, you know, aspirations to further solidify the relationship between mainland China and Taiwan. But I think this is all part of that adjustment with new leadership. And I think there—sometimes campaign rhetoric that takes place not just here in the States but also overseas, that once the reality of governance comes in, sometimes those views are tempered, as far as the nature of interstate relations. So I’ll leave it there.

WOODRUFF: Let’s see. How about in the middle back there, in the blue shirt.

Q: George Salem with DLA Piper.

Director Brennan, my question concerns the 28 pages. You’ve been on record about your view of their relative lack of value. My question is timing of release and the level of declassification, and whether they will also be released with the investigative report which puts it all in context.

BRENNAN: Well, I am only the director of CIA, so I don’t make the decisions about the release of a congressional document, the joint inquiry that was produced in December of 2002, that subsequently was followed up with the 9/11 Commission that thoroughly investigated all the allegations and information that was in those 28 or 29 pages. And it all—so there’s an executive branch responsibility because that’s—the document cited executive branch information. So there is a—I think has been said publicly, there’s been a review that has been underway. And so there is going to be the appropriate discussions that need to take place between the executive and legislative branches to finalize that.

I believe it’s important that that document get out because there’s so much speculation and conjecture about it. I have said that there are a lot of things in there that unfortunately will be used by some to maybe misrepresent the facts or history. But that’s why the 9/11 Commission—a thorough, thorough research investigation—really should been seen by folks as the much more dispositive of it. And there are some other documents that may come out at the same time, as you point out. But again, I defer to others who have that decision making responsibility.

WOODRUFF: OK. Let’s see. I’m trying to get to somebody—next to the last, third in, from the end on the row—yeah, with your hand up. You’ve had your hand up a long time. Yes.

Q: Yeah, Simon Henderson, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

There’s a David Ignatius op-ed in today’s Washington Post in which you get a passing reference. It’s—

BRENNAN: By the way, I didn’t talk to David Ignatius prior to that article being published. I just want to go on the record, because it’s a reference to me.

Q: He didn’t imply you did. But the headline, based on the online version, is the 30-year old Saudi prince could jumpstart the kingdom or dive it off a cliff. What can the U.S. do? What should it do to get a good outcome in Saudi Arabia?

BRENNAN: Continue to work very closely with the Saudi leadership, the Saudi government. President Obama has been out there many times during his administration. We have constant interaction with the Saudi government and the political, economic, security, intelligence realms. We have very close alignment of objectives in some areas. We need to continue to work with them.

The Saudi 2030 vision and project that was spearheaded by the Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Salman is an ambitious view of the future that I think the Saudi leadership as a whole deserves credit for thinking about how Saudi Arabia is going to prosper in the future, across a number of different areas, in terms of development, investment, employment, diversification of its economy. It is a very, very important country to the region’s stability, to U.S. national security interests. And so what we’re trying to do is to make sure that there is this very active dialogue, and a very open and candid discussion between ourselves and Saudi Arabia.

As I said, the president has engaged extensively and has been very open and honest and candid with the areas where we want to be able to work together with Saudi Arabia because we agree, and there are areas where there are disagreements. And I have been impressed that the dialogue has been so candid. And it’s particularly important now because you have a new leadership, King Salman, Crown Muhammad Nayef, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Salman, who need to be working as a team. They have a number of challenges on the security front, given what’s going on inside of Yemen, what’s happening along their border inside of, you know, other countries. So it’s a critically important relationship that we’re going to continue to nurture and develop.

WOODRUFF: OK. This gentleman here, third in. This one right here.

Q: Mohamed Elmenshawy, Al Arabiya Television.

Would you please give us your assessment on the terrorism in Sinai, and whether your agency cooperates with the Egyptians on that front?

BRENNAN: We do cooperate with the Egyptians. I spoke to my Egyptian counterpart earlier this week. We want to make sure that we’re able to do what we can to help protect individuals inside of Egypt, Egyptians and others. The challenge inside of Sinai, there is an ISIL group there, but it used to be a local group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, that basically pledged allegiance to ISIL. And so it’s not as though it’s a start-up. This was a group that was very active in the Sinai for a number of years, that now is part of the ISIS global architecture. So their responsibility for carrying out attacks against the Egyptian security, military offices there. They’ve posed a threat to the multinational force observers inside of the Sinai.

So we work closely with the Egyptians. We try to give them the information that they need to prevent these, you know, outrageous terrorist attacks from taking place, whether it be in the Sinai or other areas. There have been attacks inside of Cairo. We also have a very close and open and candid conversations with the Egyptians. And there are areas where we believe the Egyptians need to step up their game in terms of their capabilities, but also in terms of how they deal with some of these very challenging issues that cross both the security and the political realms. But we do have a very—an active engagement with the—with the Egyptians.

WOODRUFF: All right. I think we’re out of time unless somebody has a very short question. Anybody volunteer? (Laughter.)

BRENNAN: You knew that was going to happen. (Laughter.)

Q: Sir, I’m David Ensor with the Atlantic Council.

An old journalist kind of question: When do you start briefing Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton? (Laughter.) And—

WOODRUFF: You took my question.

Q: And how do you expect that to go?

BRENNAN: I knew—on these things, we always go one question too long. We really do. (Laughter.)

It is up to the president and then the Director of National Intelligence to make that offer, as they’ve done in the past, to the candidates of the two principal political parties after the convention formally nominates them. And so the Director of National Intelligence takes the lead on that. And so the timing, as well as the willingness and interest of the candidates, is something that will be determined as a result of engagement with their respective staffs.

WOODRUFF: But you won’t do that briefing personally, will you?

BRENNAN: I fulfill my CIA responsibilities to the best of my ability. And if there is a need for me to be personally involved in this, I will—I will try to carry out my responsibilities. (Laughter.)

WOODRUFF: Please thank—

BRENNAN: And if there’s not a need, I will not. (Laughter.)

WOODRUFF: Please thank John Brennan, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency. (Applause.)

(END)