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Ambassador Haley called on the UNSC to steer away from its Israel bashing and address the real threat in the region – Iran.
US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Nikki Haley called on the Security Council to steer away from the “biased discussions” on the Middle East focused solely on Israel and to touch on the real threat, namely Iran.
In remarks made during the UNSC monthly discussion on the Middle East on Thursday, Haley said that the UNSC convenes every month to discuss the Middle East, but “regrettably, these monthly meetings routinely turn into Israel-bashing sessions. That’s the way this Security Council has operated for years. It’s a formula that is absurdly biased against one country. It’s a formula that is painfully narrow in its description of the conflicts in the region. And it’s a formula that does nothing to help find solutions.”
While the sessions do no good and present no solutions, they actually cause damage because they work to push Israel and the Palestinians apart.
She stated it was the US’ belief that “peace will only come from direct negotiations, not from one-sided Security Council meetings and one-sided resolutions.”
Furthermore, the biased discussions on the Middle East also exact a real cost because they fail to address the real threats evolving and refrain from addressing the real factors that cause conflict across the region.
Haley has previously stated her shock at the anti-Israel biased nature of the UNSC’s discussion on the Middle East, and appeared to offer a plan to rectify the situation.
“By breaking out of old, familiar, counterproductive patterns, we might actually achieve something valuable,” she offered.
The Chief Culprit: Iran and Hezbollah
She then pointed to the main threat emanating from the region – Iran and its proxy terror groups.
“If we are speaking honestly about conflict in the Middle East, we need to start with the chief culprit: Iran and its partner militia, Hezbollah,” she stated. “Iran and Hezbollah conspire together to destabilize the Middle East, and their actions are expanding.”
Iran has committed and continues to commit attacks across the region and is responsible for thousands of deaths.
“While this Council has paid too little attention to this growing menace, the United States will not. We are going to speak up about Iran and Hezbollah, and we are going to act against their lawlessness,” she vowed.
“Hezbollah is a terrorist group spreading its influence across Middle East with the backing of a state sponsor. Iran is using Hezbollah to advance its regional aspirations. They are working together to expand extremist ideologies in the Middle East. That is a threat that should be dominating our discussion at this Security Council,” she demanded.
She said the US is not waiting and has imposed sanctions on Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) and its Ministry of Intelligence for their support of the Assad regime, and has leveled sanctions against members of Iranian-backed terrorist organizations in Bahrain.
The US will work “even harder with our partners and allies to disrupt Iran’s support for militant and terrorist groups,” she declared.
She called on the rest of the UNSC Member States to “live up to their obligations.”
“We call on all states to fully implement Resolution 2231, which bans the transfer of weapons to and from Iran, as well as the arms embargoes against the Houthis [in Yemen] in Resolution 2216 and for Lebanon [to Hezbollah] in Resolution 1701.”
In conclusion, she pointed out that “how one chooses to spend one’s time is an indication of one’s priorities. While the Israel-Palestinian issue is an important one, deserving of attention, the incredibly destructive nature of Iranian and Hezbollah activities throughout the Middle East demands much more of our attention. It should become this Council’s priority in the region.”
By: Max Gelber, United with Israel
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