UNITED NATIONS, United States, Sept 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US President
Donald Trump takes his campaign to isolate Iran to the United Nations
Security Council on Wednesday, chairing for the first time a meeting that
will lay bare divisions between Washington and key allies.
Trump will be wielding the gavel at the top UN body, where the United
States this month holds the agenda-setting presidency of the 15-nation
council that deals with the world’s most pressing security threats.
Trump’s appearance in the formal setting of the Security Council chamber
could trigger surprises. UN diplomats note that the US president has been
known to stray from protocol and procedure.
During his address to the General Assembly on Tuesday, Trump assailed
Iran’s leaders, accusing them of sowing “chaos, death and destruction” and
calling on world governments to isolate Tehran.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shot back in his speech, denouncing
leaders who have “xenophobic tendencies resembling a Nazi disposition” and
slamming the planned council meeting as a “preposterous and abnormal act.”
The meeting will show a rift between the United States and its European
allies over the Iran nuclear deal that Trump ditched in May after repeatedly
dismissing it as disastrous.
The United States has moved to reimpose sanctions that had been lifted
under the landmark deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program and has vowed to
punish foreign firms that do business with Iran.
On Monday, the five remaining parties to the agreement — Britain, China,
France, Germany and Russia — defiantly announced that they would set up a
special payment system to continue trade and business ties with Iran.
The United States had initially said the meeting chaired by Trump would
focus on Iran, but later broadened the agenda under the theme of nuclear non-
proliferation and weapons of mass destruction.
– Show of unity –
That opens the door to remarks on chemical weapons use in Syria, the drive
to denuclearize North Korea and the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, where
the United States and the Europeans can show unity.
The usual practice is for the chair to speak last at council meetings, but
in this instance Trump will be the first to address the chamber followed by
other heads of state.
One of those will be leftist leader Evo Morales of Bolivia, a non-permanent
council member critical of US foreign policy and a close supporter of
Venezuela.
After the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela in May, Morales took
aim at Trump, saying he “must understand that the world is not his estate.”
French President Emmanuel Macron will address the council meeting as will
British Prime Minister Theresa May. Russia and China will be represented by
their foreign ministers Sergei Lavrov and Wang Yi.
Iran has not requested to speak at the council meeting, diplomats confirmed
Tuesday although Rouhani will hold a press conference soon after it is due to
end.
It will be only the third time in UN history that a US president will chair
a Security Council meeting. Barack Obama presided over two meetings in 2009
and 2014.
Trump is one of around 130 world leaders attending the General Assembly in
New York which formally began on Tuesday.
Speakers scheduled to address the second day of the assembly include the
leaders of war-torn Yemen and Afghanistan while Prime Minister Theresa May
will make her last speech at the world’s foremost diplomatic stage before
Britain leaves the European Union.