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On 20 February 2011, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi delivered an address to the nation on Libyan state television stating that if no agreement could be found between protesters and the government "thousands of deaths, and rivers of blood will run through Libya". He also insisted that his father remained in charge with the army's backing and would "fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL6I5hktEs0 | title = Al Jazeera English - Saif El Islam Gadaffi addresses the nation - Part 1 of 3 }}</ref>
Speaking on Libyan state TV, Saif al-Islam blamed the [[2011 Libyan Civil War|civil war]] on tribal factions and [[Islamist]]s acting on their own agendas, drunken and drugged.{{clarify|date=December 2016}} He promised reforms, and said the alternative would be civil war blocking trade and oil money and leading to the country being taken over by foreigners.<ref>[http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/02/2011220232725966251.html Gaddafi's son talks of conspiracy], [[Al Jazeera]], 20 February 2011.</ref> He closed by saying, "We will not let [[Al Jazeera]], [[Al Arabiya]] and [[BBC]] trick us." [[Oliver Miles]], a former British Ambassador to Libya, disagreed with his assessment.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/feb/20/libya-protests-oliver-miles How will Libya's protests play out?], [[Oliver Miles]], ''[[The Guardian]]'', 20 February 2011.</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/20/libya-defiant-protesters-feared-dead Libya on brink as protests hit Tripoli], Ian Black, ''[[The Guardian]]'', 21 February 2011.</ref> In an interview with [[ABC News]] reporter [[Christiane Amanpour]], Saif al-Islam denied that his father's regime was killing civilians.<ref>[
In June 2011, Saif al-Islam and his father, Muammar, announced that they were willing to hold elections and that Muammar Gaddafi would step aside if he lost. Saif al-Islam stated that the elections could be held within three months and transparency would be guaranteed through international observers. NATO and the rebels rejected the offer, and NATO soon resumed their bombardment of Tripoli.<ref>{{cite news|last=Carey|first=Nick|title=Rebels dismiss election offer, NATO pounds Tripoli|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/16/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110616|accessdate=27 October 2011|date=16 June 2011|agency=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>
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