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Nikki Haley and Israel's UN Ambassador Danon at the Security Council this week denouncing Iran

U.S. and Israeli UN Ambassadors take the "Outlaw" Iranian Regime to Task



U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley used her entire speech to the UN Security Council on Wednesday to denounce the Iranian regime on multiple grounds. It was the Security Council first meeting on the ‘Situation in the Middle East’ after President Donald Trump’s statement on the new American policy on Iran. The session was supposed to be devoted to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, Ambassador Haley departed from the monthly ritual during which Israel is normally singled out for criticism by other Council members. She went after Iran instead. She explained why the Trump administration decided to take “a comprehensive approach to confronting the Iranian regime,” which does not give the regime a get out of jail free card even if it is in technical compliance with the loophole-ridden nuclear deal agreed to by the Obama administration known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Nearly every threat to peace and security in the Middle East is connected to Iran’s outlaw behavior

“We can’t talk about stability in the Middle East without talking about Iran,” Ambassador Haley said. “That’s because nearly every threat to peace and security in the Middle East is connected to Iran’s outlaw behavior. The United States has now embarked on a course that attempts to address all aspects of Iran’s destructive conduct, not just one aspect. It’s critical that the international community do the same. Judging Iran by the narrow confines of the nuclear deal misses the true nature of the threat. Iran must be judged in totality of its aggressive, destabilizing, and unlawful behavior. To do otherwise would be foolish.” Ambassador Haley accused the Iranian regime of continuing to “play” the Security Council. “Iran hides behind its assertion of technical compliance with the nuclear deal while it brazenly violates the other limits on its behavior. And we have allowed them to get away with it. This must stop.” Ambassador Haley proceeded to list various violations by the Iranian regime of Security Council resolutions pertaining to the transfer of conventional weapons from Iran and the arming of terrorist groups, including the Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah. She also pointed to what she called the Iranian regime’s “most threatening act” – its launch of ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. “When a rogue regime starts down the path of ballistic missiles, it tells us that we will soon have another North Korea on our hands,” Ambassador Haley said. “If it is wrong for North Korea to do this, why doesn’t that same mentality apply to Iran? “

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“When terror strikes, a trail of bloody footprints traces back to Iran”

Israel’s Ambassador Danny Danon presented the UN Security Council with what he called an “indictment" of Iran. “When terror strikes, a trail of bloody footprints traces back to Iran,” Ambassador Danon said. He then presented four charges and further elaborated on the case against Iran. “Iran is guilty of sponsoring and endorsing worldwide terror, violating human rights, promoting antisemitism and seeking to destroy a UN member state – the State of Israel,” Ambassador Danon explained. “The Iranian Ayatollahs sponsor Hezbollah’s war chest, Hamas’ budget of bloodshed, and Islamic Jihad’s terror funds. Iran also commits horrific human rights violations against its own people.” Referring to the JCPOA, Ambassador Danon noted that “Iran seeks to destroy Israel by any means necessary. It has tried to obtain nuclear capabilities for years. Today, the regime’s intentions are no different than before.” While Ambassadors Haley and Danon focused on Iran’s outlaw behavior outside of the confines of its purported technical compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA, it should also be noted that the UN’s international inspectors, who have regularly reported on such compliance, are not able to visit Iran’s military sites. Past work on nuclear explosive trigger devices appears to have taken place at one or more such sites in the past. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano admitted last month that when it comes to the IAEA’s capacity to check whether Iran was conducting work on a nuclear explosive device, his agency’s “tools are limited.” The Iranian regime has also attempted to skirt the restrictions in the JCPOA on its procurement of materials, equipment, goods and technology related to Iran’s nuclear activities. Proponents of the JCPOA argue that exiting the nuclear deal unless it is changed to the Trump administration’s satisfaction would undermine U.S. credibility with North Korea and thereby kill any chance of negotiations to resolve the crisis caused by North Korea's continued testing of sophisticated nuclear arms and ballistic missiles. "If we want to talk to North Korea now, the possible end for the nuclear deal with Iran would jeopardize the credibility of such treaties," Reuters quoted German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel as saying. Germany is one of the parties to the JCPOA. Other European allies have voiced similar concerns. So have Obama’s former Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton and John Kerry. This argument is absurd on its face. The whole point is to prevent Iran from becoming the next North Korea, not to kick the can down the road as usual. North Korea’s aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons and of intercontinental ballistic missiles equipped with nuclear warheads proves that weak agreements full of front-loaded goodies rewarding rogue regimes for elusive promises are worthless.


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Joseph A. Klein, CFP United Nations Columnist -- Bio and Archives

Joseph A. Klein is the author of Global Deception: The UN’s Stealth Assault on America’s Freedom.


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