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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani used his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday to denounce American pressure and send a message of resistance and resilience to the United States, noting that no matter the pressure, the country will refuse to budge.
In his pre-recorded video message, Rouhani began by noting that COVID-19 has put the global community in the same boat.
“But instead of being able to benefit from international cooperation, my nation faces the toughest sanctions in history, in obvious and fundamental violation of the UN Charter, international agreements, and Security Council Resolution 2231. United Nations, “said the president.
Evoked the image of George Floyd, whose murder at the hands of Minneapolis police sparked huge protests in late May.
Rouhani said those images are familiar to Iranians who have felt pressure from other nations for decades, but who have continued to fight for peace and progress.
After listing a wide variety of Iranian initiatives aimed at achieving regional pieces and efforts, he said they were in line with the resistance to “occupation, genocide, displacement and racism” in the 40 years since the formation of the Republic. Islamic, Rouhani headed straight for the 75th. The president of the UNGA, Volkan Bozkir.
“Such a nation does not deserve sanctions. The answer to peace is not war. The reward for fighting extremism is not terror.”
One day after 40th anniversary From the Iran-Iraq war that began after US-backed leader Saddam Hussein invaded Iran and killed some 500,000 people on both sides, Rouhani also recalled the conflict.
“We must know that claims do not matter and only actions matter,” the president said, noting that the United States supported an Iraq armed with chemical weapons while boasting of peace.
‘Self-made insulation’
According to the president, the United States is doing the same with ISIL (ISIS) Armed group, supporting warmongering in the Middle East, selling billions of dollars in weapons, and most recently, going against the UN Security Council (UNSC) on Iran.
On Sunday, the US declared It has reinstated all UN sanctions on Iran, including an indefinite ban on an arms embargo set to expire as part of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
But the UNSC dismissed the claim as lacking a legal basis, while member states renewed their commitment to the historic nuclear deal from which the United States unilaterally withdrew in May 2018.
“It is a victory not only for Iran, but also for the period of transition of the international order in the post-western world, that the regime that boasts of having hegemony has found itself in such self-made isolation,” Rouhani said.
US sanctions have paralyzed Iran’s currency and driven many into poverty [Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA-EFE]
Addressing all members of the UNGA, the Iranian president criticized the United States for turning its back on the nuclear deal, the negotiations of which took more than a decade, while still claiming to support the talks.
“The United States cannot impose negotiations on us, nor war,” Rouhani said. “Living with sanctions is difficult, but it is more difficult to live without independence.”
Trump has repeatedly stated that he will reach a new deal with Iran in a few weeks if he is re-elected in November.
‘Negotiation tool’
Rouhani concluded his United Nations General Assembly speech by saying that Iran will not be a “negotiating tool” for the American elections, and that no matter who the next president of the United States is, “it will inevitably surrender to the resistance of the great Iranian nation “.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has announced in recent weeks that, if elected, he will return to the nuclear deal, but will work to pressure Iran to enter into broader negotiations that will include its ballistic missile program.
In his prerecorded address to the UNGA earlier today, Trump made only a passing reference to Iran, saying, “We withdrew from the terrible Iran nuclear deal and imposed crippling sanctions on the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”
He also boasted of killing Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, in early January in Iraq, whom Trump called “the world’s greatest terrorist.”
Soleimani’s assassination by a US drone strike brought tensions between Iran and the United States to a boiling point, prompting the country repeatedly to promise “harsh revenge” for one of its most revered figures.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also told the assembly on Tuesday that issues related to Iran’s nuclear program must be resolved under international law through dialogue and diplomacy, and in compliance with the 2015 international agreement.
“I reiterate our call to all parties to fulfill their responsibilities under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which provides serious contributions to regional and global security,” he said.
The United States on Monday announced new sanctions against Iran’s Defense Ministry and others involved in its nuclear and weapons programs. His goal was to back up Washington’s controversial claim that all UN sanctions against Tehran are now reinstated.
