UN Security Council meeting on anniversary of Iran nuclear deal; US protests Islamic Republic of Iran's behavior
In a message before the start of the Security Council meeting on the Iran nuclear deal and its Resolution 2231, the US representative to the United Nations said that the new report by the UN Secretary-General shows a violation of the Council resolution by the Islamic Republic.
According to Nikki Haley, today's report by the Secretary-General contains evidence that Iran has violated Security Council resolutions by sending weapons to various parts of the Middle East and supporting terrorist organizations, although this is not surprising.
He added: "By supporting the Houthis to Hezbollah, to Hamas and Bashar al-Assad, Iran's behavior is such that its commitment to spending the country's enormous resources on supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region is greater than spending these resources on domestic needs."
The US representative to the United Nations continued the statement by stressing that the United States will not allow Iran's violations and destructive actions to go unanswered, and called on other members of the Security Council to do the same.
Ms. Haley concluded by adding that the evidence contained in this latest report by the UN Secretary-General clearly shows us all the consequences of inaction and passivity in the face of these Iranian behaviors.
Security Council meeting
The Wednesday evening Security Council meeting coincided with the third anniversary of the adoption of Council Resolution 2231, which was issued in 2015 following the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, including the United States, and in support of that agreement.
The US ambassador to the United Nations reportedly did not attend the meeting. Ms. Haley is on a trip to India.
"Rosemary DiCarlo, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, referred to Iran's adherence to the nuclear agreement at the meeting, and at the same time said that the UN Secretary-General calls on Tehran to carefully consider the concerns expressed by member states about those actions of Iran that allegedly violate the restrictions set out in Annex B."
He was referring to Iran's missile program. These remarks were met with a sharp reaction from Russia. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, criticized the report of the UN Deputy Secretary-General.
In this meeting, Jonathan Cohen, the deputy US ambassador to the UN, referred to UN resolutions including 2231, 2261, 1701, and 1559, and said that in these resolutions, as members of this council, we have banned arms exports from Iran and the provision of weapons to the Houthis and Hezbollah.
He added: "Standing against Iran's destabilizing behavior is a mission to which we must all adhere."
At this meeting, the French representative also said that as long as Iran adheres to the JCPOA, France will adhere to it.
The British representative also said at the meeting that we are concerned about Iran's actions in testing missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads and we demand an immediate halt to it.
On May 8 of this year, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would withdraw from the JCPOA, stating that the Islamic Republic was violating the spirit of the deal by continuing its ballistic missile program and malign actions in the Middle East.
In early July, while outlining the new US strategy towards Iran, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo proposed 12 conditions for negotiating a new agreement; conditions that some have called difficult and that Tehran has so far rejected.
Source: Voice of America
