As US sanctions near, Europe fails to protect Iran deal
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Sep 27, 2018
Iran did not request to speak at the council meeting, but Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told a news conference that the United States would eventually rejoin the nuclear deal and pledged Tehran's continued commitment to the accord.
Canada was left out when the United States and Mexico reached an agreement last month to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The president also mentioned within his address the U.S's foreign priorities, saying that he had met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and that progress had slowed in regards to North Korean nuclear weapon development.
In the most in-your-face defense yet of his "America First" agenda, a defiant Mr. Trump stood before United Nations delegates who sneered openly at him and told them that the US will never submit to global controls as long as he is in charge.
Donald Trump, whose political ascent has been full of firsts, yesterday achieved another rare feat - bringing laughter to the solemn UN General Assembly.
"It's very complicated and I think it would only work in a limited way", a senior European diplomat said on condition of anonymity because the discussions are confidential.
Trump said in a toast, which the non-alcoholic president made with a Diet Coke, that the United Nations "has this incredible potential to bring people together" and that is evidenced by 'certain things we're doing now toward world peace'. "Well that was meant to get some laughter, but it was great", Mr Trump said of the laughter.
Britain, France and Germany say abandoning the pact does not address USA security concerns and instead threatens stability in the Middle East. Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons. We do not wish to attack them.
Instead, virtually every other member country took turns scolding the United States for its undermining of the nuclear deal with Tehran.
"While they espouse a belief in the sovereignty of nations, they also acknowledge that there are instances where another nation's reliance on the United States for military protection or economic ties presents an opportunity for the United States to have legitimate grievances about those policies that they pursue that are counter to USA interests", he added.
But highlighting the differences in approach, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said a so-called Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under consideration to facilitate trade with Iran could be in place "before November".
But Rouhani told reporters that sanctions which "were supposed to be proactive in November became proactive in September, so there are no other sanctions that will start in November".
"In 1953, the United States financed, planned and implemented a coup d'etat against a democratically-elected government", he said, referring to Iran. They are leaving Iran in droves.
Four months ago, Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal to the dismay of European allies, Russian Federation and China which had invested years in negotiations to achieve a milestone agreement on keeping Iran's nuclear ambitions in check. "This can not be continued", Rouhani said.