Nikki Haley: The U.S. Will Not Tolerate Iran's Dangerous Behaviors

Nikki Haley, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, emphasized in a statement regarding Donald Trump's decision to extend the suspension of sanctions on Iran for four months that the U.S. will not tolerate Iran's "dangerous and destabilizing behaviors." In a statement published by the website of the U.S. virtual embassy in Iran, Haley noted that "today, the President made it clear in a decisive action that the United States remains committed to the provisions of the nuclear agreement with Iran, but will not tolerate Iran's dangerous and destabilizing behaviors." The U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations further stated, "We expect other countries to join us." Donald Trump, the U.S. President, on Friday, January 12, extended the suspension of Iran's nuclear sanctions but simultaneously stated, "This is the last time I will extend the suspension of Iran's nuclear sanctions, and the flaws in this agreement must be addressed." He emphasized that the suspension of sanctions is aimed at reaching an agreement with America's European allies to "fix the terrible flaws in the nuclear agreement," but "in the absence of such an agreement, the United States will not extend the sanctions waiver to remain in the nuclear agreement again." Trump added, "If at any time I determine that such an agreement is unattainable, I will immediately withdraw from the nuclear agreement." The U.S. President, who has been a serious critic of the JCPOA since his campaign, believes that Iran's continued missile activities and the regional policies of the Islamic Republic "contradict the spirit of the nuclear agreement." Since Trump took office, Iran's missile activities and regional policies have consistently been criticized by U.S. officials, and America's European allies, despite emphasizing the preservation of the nuclear agreement, have condemned Iran's missile and regional activities. Now, Nikki Haley in her statement said, "Here at the United Nations, we are eager to receive new international cooperation to strengthen actions against Iran's missile activities, enforce the violated arms sanctions by Iran, limit Iran's support for terrorism, and continue to expose human rights violations by Iran." The U.S. representative at the United Nations specified that "all these steps can be taken outside the nuclear agreement, but if we cannot reach an international agreement on them, it will become even clearer that the nuclear agreement is an obstacle to peace." She added, "We should not allow the Iranian regime to use the nuclear agreement as a cover to violate various international norms and United Nations resolutions." On Friday, while the U.S. extended the suspension of sanctions on Iran under the nuclear agreement, it also announced new sanctions against several individuals and entities, especially due to their roles in the missile program or the suppression of protests in Iran. The most notable of these individuals is Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, who was added to the U.S. sanctions list for human rights violations and the rights of Iranian citizens, including "individuals who have been imprisoned solely for exercising their right to peaceful assembly." Additionally, beyond individuals or entities sanctioned for their role in Iran's missile program, the U.S. sanctioned the Supreme Council of Cyberspace in Iran, the Cyber Defense Center of the Revolutionary Guards, and several other entities due to their role in restricting Iranian users' access to the internet and international media.