Friday, September 21, 2018

Haley: US holds Iran 'fully accountable' for proxies' attacks

US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Nikki Haley on Thursday chaired a UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East.
 
At the meeting, Haley pointed out the gravity of Iran's actions, and urged the Council to focus on Iran's aggression in Iraq.
 
"The Palestinian-Israeli conflict is serious and worthy of this Council’s attention. But if there is one country that is the source of conflict and instability in the Middle East – one country that merits a quarterly debate in the Security Council – that country is not Israel. It’s Iran," Haley said.
 
"For almost 40 years, the Iranian regime has existed outside the community of law-abiding nations. It is difficult to name a conflict in the Middle East that does not have Iran’s fingerprints on it."
 
Emphasizing the danger the Iranian regime presents to the Middle East, she explained, "The Iranian regime has backed dictators who gas their own people. It stokes conflict. It funds foreign fighters and terrorists. It transfers missiles to militants. It acts against the interests and policies of this Security Council, time and time again."
 
"Across the Middle East, Iran has trampled on the sovereignty of its neighbors. In Lebanon. In Syria. In Yemen. And the Iranian regime has shown a total disregard of the sovereignty of a country that is at a critical stage in its political development: Iraq.
 
"Iran’s leaders pretend their interference in the sovereignty of other nations is done in the name of religious affiliation. They like to claim that they have been 'invited' into the affairs of other countries. In fact, the motives of the mullahs are much less elevated. They are interested in power. In the case of Iraq, their goal is to exploit uncertainty in order to create an Iranian-controlled corridor for weapons and fighters from Tehran to the Mediterranean. READ MORE