National
0

Rouhani: US Should Not Be Allowed to Exploit UN Platform

Rouhani: US Should Not Be Allowed to Exploit UN Platform
Rouhani: US Should Not Be Allowed to Exploit UN Platform

The United States should not be allowed to exploit the United Nations mechanisms to advance its own agenda, President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday, before leaving Tehran to attend the UN General Assembly in New York.

"While other countries have failed to properly utilize the potential of the United Nations to address regional and international crises, the Americans have been abusing it," the president said at the Mehrabad International Airport, IRNA reported.

The US thinks that it can "bully" other countries since it is home to the world body's headquarters and has veto power in the Security Council, he said, underlining the need to help end this practice.

Special Meeting 

Rouhani's comments came as US President Donald Trump is preparing to chair a special Security Council meeting on September 26 to spotlight Iran's alleged "violations of international law."

Some White House aides backed down from the plan to make Iran the centerpiece of the session, instead broadening that conversation to deal with weapons of mass destruction.

But Trump, whose country presides over the council this month, indicated in a tweet on Friday that Iran will be the focus of the session, noting that he will chair a meeting "on Iran", USA Today reported.

"I will chair the United Nations Security Council meeting on Iran next week!" wrote the US president, who is expected to use a series of speeches during the annual gathering of world leaders to push a hard line against Iran following his decision to pull Washington out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on the country.

Human Rights  

Rouhani said the US is violating human rights by putting pressure on the Iranian nation and forcing other countries to sever economic ties with the Islamic Republic.

US sanctions on Iran have led to a sharp depreciation of the local currency, restricted ordinary people's access to medicine and jeopardized deals aimed at renewing the country's aging air fleet.

"The Americans want to put people under pressure so that they would regret the choice they made for independence," the president said, in reference to the 1979 Islamic Revolution that led to the establishment of the Islamic Republic.

"However, they will definitely fail to achieve their objectives because Iranians are known to unite and put up resistance in the face of external pressure. It is the Americans who will regret the wrong path they have taken."

Iran's Delegation 

Rouhani, who is scheduled to address the UN assembly on Sept. 25, is being accompanied by a number of officials, including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and Mahmoud Vaezi, the presidential chief of staff.

The president said he will use his speeches and bilateral meetings to assert Iran's policies and address issues related to the nuclear accord and regional developments such as the ongoing conflicts in Yemen and Syria.

Add new comment

Read our comment policy before posting your viewpoints

Financialtribune.com