Thread by @laraseligman

In his first comments to the press as SecDef, @EsperDoD says he will send out updated guidance on engaging the press, stressing "the very important role of the media, the press in our society in terms of communicating what we are doing and then answering your questions."

Another priority: 14 of 59 Senate-confirmed DOD positions are unfilled or filled by actings - he wants to get these filled ASAP

"We've got to get stable leadership in to make sure you've got civilian control of the military, the right people in place leading this organization."

On Iran, Esper says the European maritime mission proposed by the UK will be "complementary" to Operation Sentinel, the parallel US effort to protect commercial vessels in the Gulf.

Remember, UK said clearly that the mission would not be part of Trump's max pressure campaign.

Asked whether the European effort would take assets away from Operation Sentinel, Esper dodged the question. "I think it's all complementary."

But later Esper seemed to imply that each nation should be protecting their OWN ships in the Gulf. "The Brits are trying to escort their ships, we will escort our ships to the degree that the risk demands it, and I assume that other countries will escort their ships."

Esper clarified that he is not announcing right now that the US military is going to be escorting ships in the Gulf. He is traveling to @CENTCOM next week to hash out the details.

He also said as a former @USArmy officer he is using "escort" broadly - it does not necessarily mean every US-flagged ship will have a Navy destroyer behind it. Could be that there is "overhead capability" or a warship in the area close enough to react quickly to any incident.

He also echoed Trump's calls for negotiations with Tehran. "We're trying to deescalate and at the same time message them very clearly that without preconditions, any time, any place, we are willing to meet with them and talk about how we get back into a negotiation."

On tensions w/ Turkey, Esper said he has not seen reports that Ankara has threatened to cut off US access to Incirlik air base if Trump imposes sanctions. Turkey is a "longstanding NATO ally we want to preserve that relationship... we will take this all one step at a time."

On China, Esper said we need to be concerned about Chinese technology "getting into our systems or the systems of our allies." Huawei is "the poster child" for that.

And on the controversial JEDI cloud competition, which Trump said he'd ask the Pentagon to investigate, Esper says "that's one of the things I want to take a hard look at."